Shiba's Heart
by Jenniball
Summary: This is about Shiba, and Claire, from Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. I know it's regularly Chelsea but I wanted to change it a little.
1. Chapter 1, Shiba

I don't own any of the characters or Harvest Moon, Natsume does.

Shiba's Heart

From the trees, the boy watched the ship capsize from afar. He had learned hardness that kept him unsympathizing, but nonetheless. He shaded his eyes from the tropical sun, and saw what looked to be one…two…three, four, five! Five people surfacing. The boat was not far off from the island as they swam the short kilometer. The first to come ashore was an elderly man cradling a screaming boy under one arm. Then a woman, presumably his daughter for her youth, paddling furiously to keep a teary eyed girl afloat. Hadn't there been five? The family lay panting, exhausted on the shore while gulls wheeled, emphasizing the deserted aura of the island. He heard the conversation from his perch directly above.

"…Oh, dad, I don't think there's anyone here…HELLO!"

"Please, Feleana, don't…"

"PLEASE! ANYONE! HELP! HEEEEELLLP!"

The girl child began to cry fervently and the elderly man glared at his daughter and scooped up his grandchild. "Hush now Natalie, it's alright…"

"What are we going to do!? There's only five of us…on a deserted island…in the middle of nowhere…and how are we going to reach the mainland now!? Hey…wasn't there somebody else with us? Uhh…Claire?"

"Why, yes, I believe there was…oh no."

Feleana clutched both sides of her face, her eyes drawn as she hobbled to the shoreline. "CLAIRE!"

The frothing sea answered unhelpfully.

About halfway through the conversation, the boy had found his mind drifting back. _Five people…Claire… _He found himself scanning the horizon. No, no bobbing heads, but then…what was that? The inlet was located between two branching arms of the island, and at the very peak of one such point, halfway up the sloping sides, was an indescribable silhouette. _Could it be…?_ It was then that he realized the figure bobbing rapidly up and down. The tide was coming in fast. Another rule that he went by, It is one thing to watch a disaster that you can do nothing about, another to stand by from the sidelines. This was one such time. Sudden, uncharacteristic panic seized his gut as he clambered earnestly back down the mango tree and sprinted desperately for the inlet. The water was rising rapidly there now, and he could be sure that it was person, for as he neared, pale hands ripped up the lip of turf, fighting against the dragging motion of the sea. The sun was setting, casting the island in an orange glow, and he slowed into a gorilla-like lope and then skidded to a halt on his knuckles before the castaway.

Without a thought, his hand lashed out and grasped the girl's wrist. He dug his ankles in the ground and leaned back. The tide was splattering up against the mud walls of the point as he strained back, making little sounds of effort, until with a grunt she flopped onto the grass beside him and lay there breathing quietly while he, yearning to return to the jungle but equally exhausted, leaned back on his hands and closed his eyes. There was distant shouting from the shore. Presently, when the girl's breathing had slowed, the boy concluded that she had fallen asleep, but was somehow reluctant to leave as he rose cautiously to avoid waking her, then righted himself quickly and made to dart back to the skirting of trees when a cool hand closed around his ankle and his heart jumped to his throat. He whipped around. The girl had turned her head on its side, one blue eye half open, the other closed nearest the ground, looking so weak and helpless that all thoughts of the island dissipated as he stared into that one glittering blue slit. She opened her mouth feebly, and water trickled out. She coughed once, twice, and then rasped, "Thank you." Her hand slipped from his ankle, and both eyes drooped shut with finality. How could she expect him to leave now? His gaze flickered in all directions. Sea, sea, sea, island. He couldn't very well leave her like this. It would be so inhumane. But then again, not for a "savage" like him. He cringed, and decided silently. When he nudged her gently over to scoop her up in both arms, she wrinkled her nose and mumbled protests, but then trailed off into dead sleep again, and for that moment he held her still as sleep overcame her. He studied her pale face, and glossy yellow hair that brushed the ground at his feet. Her mouth was curved in a small smile of contentment now, and he pulled away, his eyes fixating on the jungle. His gaze meandered back to the island, where now only footprints marked where the family had emerged from the tumultuous waters. Reassured, he breathed in the salt tang of the air, merged with something like dewy flower heads that confused his senses. It was her. He shifted her more comfortably in his arms, for this was all new to him of course, braced, and then barreled surefooted over the slippery grass, across the beach, and into the trees.

"Nah, nah, nah! Shiba, you know no humans allowed!"

The boy's eyes dropped.

"You put her in village with other people!"

Fed up, he challenged, "We're people too!"

"Aye, aye, aye, of course we people, but this is our home, and the humans…vacation spot!" The boy frowned at his crotchety old leader, the Island Wise Man, Wada. More like Voodoo Man… His eyes steeled over defiantly, and he gave the wise man one last long, cold look over his shoulder before he sprang off of the window sill, clutching at a vine with his toes and sliding to the ground, jouncing the girl in his arms. She yawned, but laid still and snuggled into his chest. His mouth twisted into a helpless grimace as he scampered into the murky depths of the jungle for the umpteenth time that day, a weighted burden in his arms. He knew of a place, a clearing of stones that had been left there by former island mystic long ago, and he hastened there determinedly.

The vines whipped at his cheeks as his bare feet pounded the sodden ground and whisked over stumps and fallen trunks. He bounded agile as a deer, ducking and dodging overhangs until he burst like a wild beast into the pale clearing. The canopy of trees high above allowed sunlight to filter meagerly through. He slowed to a trot the instant that he entered the ring of eskers, and when he took care to lay her painstakingly on the soft soil there, gently rolling her head off of his fingers, she clung for a breathless moment to his arm, her fingers like a vise, but momentarily they slipped away and he dropped back into the shadows, breathing heavily. His ankle bracelet of shark teeth clattered with each careful step back. Suddenly, a reasonable excuse surfaced in his mind. How could he leave her, when there was a chance that a wild animal would come along? He had already considered leaving her on a point near to flooding, now in the middle of a dangerous jungle? He glanced over his shoulder, feeling no tug to return to his treetop dwelling, and instead clambered swiftly to the top of one such tall stone and sat with his knees raised up under his chin, soft mocha eyes intent on her.

I'm just starting out, but there'll be a lot more chapters coming soon. Shiba's cute eh, for those of you who know him in Island of Happiness…


	2. Chapter 2, Claire

I don't have to repeat myself. I DO NOT own Harvest Moon or the characters.

Chapter 2, Claire:

His brown eyes remained watchful on the girl sleeping soundly, flitting to the skirting of trees at the slightest movement, even when most failed to even exist, until a single raindrop wriggled free of the opaque foliage overhead and broke on his nose. He stared cross-eyed, crinkling his nose, and dismounted from the rock. For a moment he just stood, statuesque as rain began to fall in steadier bouts. The last place he would ever, ever take a human would be his secretive dwelling, but realistically, there was nowhere else. Doubt lodged in his throat as he hesitated, fists balled at his sides, bare chest thrust out, just staring down at her, his eyes hard and considering. It wasn't until she murmured and visibly shivered that he hastened to her side, and why wouldn't she? She was in soaking clothes and freezing rain in a shady jungle. Her overalls were stiff with the cold when he hoisted her up into his arms again, and tore off with her, again.

His own secluded home was far off on the other side of the island, a sort of bungalow of vines, palm fronds, bamboo and slabs of bark, all pieced together in a wild array amongst the trees that looked almost natural. He had etched deep notches into the wood for easier access as he swung here, clutched there, all the while taking care to keep one arm tight around her body and one knee lifted under the small of her back. At last when he rolled her onto the unstable floor, completely of woven vines, and dove in after her, did he realize that he was sharing his single, simplest of secrets, the one that mattered so much to him, that he remain unknown. Maybe it would stop raining before she woke up. Maybe…

There was no heat of course, but for his body heat coursing through the room. He leaned against the rough bark wall, watching her. She convulsed again, and he realized how pale her cheeks were in the little light available to them. If he didn't want her to freeze…he felt something so unnatural to him, something that made his cheeks burn, and he looked quickly away from her. He didn't own any human essentials, blankets and such. He just used body heat. The flaming of his cheeks could very well heat the room, he thought weakly, but it had to be done. Feverishly, he leaned down on his knuckles and hobbled unsurely to her side. He knew enough about all the natural ways to survive, and his instinct was his only hope in such a case. Keeping care to barely touch her, he crouched warily by her side and slowly lowered himself onto his belly. When he was settled onto the floor with a creak, he wriggled discreetly up against her, and then turned so that his chin was nearly over her shoulder. Dubious, he lifted a calculating hand and slowly, ever so lightly, laid it possessively over her arm. He didn't dare do anything more, but though even the slightest amount of warmth would aid her, he felt slightly morose that he could not do more…_civilized_ things.

Eventually, day wore into night, and he himself began to shiver. In sleep, which had come unwonted, he curled his arms like two strong barriers around her and nestled his cheek against hers. She slept deeply still, but in the early hours of morning, her eyelids fluttered open at last. She made to stretch, but found her arms held down firmly against her chest. Panic gripped her for a seizing moment, and she stared down at the arms holding her captive. Lean, tanned, and with wrists patterned in exotic orange tattoo. She fingered the colored skin there softly. Then, all at once, memories of the day before came flooding back to her. The boy, who had saved her. This was him, then? Confused and disoriented, she wriggled roughly in his protective hold, attempting in vain to break free. He only held her tighter and nuzzled her cheek. Her cheeks abruptly colored and she squeezed eyes shut and then opened them. "Uhhh…e-excuse me?"

She could feel his eyes flutter open drowsily.

"You're…umm, holding me."

The young man was on his feet like a bullet, dropping his arms away like water, and she looked up at him over her shoulder, eyes wide and shimmering. His eyes were wide with bashful alarm, his stance strong, but the air hummed between them. _How awkward…_ Claire mused as she struggled for the right words. His mouth was open slightly, and he looked down at the floor and ran a hand through his equally mocha hair.

"Umm…can I ask…who are you, and what were you doing?"

The onslaught of questions came as a surprise to him. He shrugged. What _had_ he been doing? What _was _he thinking? That a girl like that would care to wake up in the arms of a…a _savage_? And when had he put his arms around her!? She stared expectantly.

"Y-you were cold…" he managed in a choked voice.

Instant warmth seeped through he, and she battled down a smile. She couldn't let this mystery man win that way. She would keep coolly aloof in his presence.

"Okay…and why didn't you just bring me back to the village? You know, blankets, fireplace…?"

"I-I-I…" he rubbed the back of his head. "I guess I…the villagers would see me…and think I'm someone I'm not…and they don't see me anyways…"

"What, think you're caring? Think you just saved a girl from certain death? That kind of thing?" she considered the last bit for moment. "Do you mean that you're, sort of like…Tarzan? You know, primate people? Jungle Boy? Can I call you Mogly?"

Utterly lost, he chose his next words with the utmost care. "You can call me Shiba?"

A grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Then you can call me Claire. And Shiba?"

He liked the way his name sounded when she said it, but he nodded nonchalantly.

"Thanks for saving me, and keeping me warm. Way better than any blanket."

Shiba's cheeks flamed abruptly and without a word he turned and vaulted from the window.

I thought this chapter was pretty cute, kinda short, but there's more coming of course! Keep reading and review!


	3. Chapter 3, Hurt on the Island

No, unfortunately, I do not own any trademarks of Harvest Moon.

Chapter 3, Hurt on the Island

Claire lay curled up, her eyes transfixed on the window where he had just disappeared. Presently, she unfurled, stretched, and began to explore. What did he expect her to do, stay there all day? She poked her blonde head out of each and every peephole she found, but there was no way out, or so it seemed. Vines trailed down the side of the house, and one seemed thick enough to support her weight, and brushed the ground below. Determined, she leaned out of the window as far as she dared and groped for the vine. Her fingertips skimmed the leathery green plant, and she fisted her hand and bit her lip. He just dove, without even looking, and he made it, so why couldn't she. She would have to do something drastic one of these days anyways or live regretting it. Resolved, she gripped the bark edge of the window sill until her knuckles turned white. She wouldn't even think about it. _Just do it Claire, just do it._ Wiping all thought from her mind, she lunged headlong out of the window, her fingers reaching for the vine. It was so close. They closed around it once and she swung sharply, careered into the side of the structure which turned out to be surprisingly sturdy and then lost her grip.

From where he sat cross legged beneath the boughs of a squat cabbage palm nearby Shiba heard her cry of alarm and dropped the spear that he had been perfecting between his toes, barreling off through the brush and flinging through the air on vines, dropping and running, and when he found the path dropping away, he hurled himself through thin air, taking stock of the numerous vines and dropping down just as the last yard of air closed between she and the ground.

His fingers closed around the back of her head first, nearest the ground, and then her arm, and he flipped her clear over. She wished that she had been strong enough to stand, but the dizzying effect of the fall and of his dangerously timely manner left her woozy. His chest was right there for her to fall on, and his hands were on her arms, his head down and his eyes peering closely into hers. _Don't be the diva_, she told herself, and opted to falling backwards and risking a sharp rock then to falling forwards into his arms and risking…everything. It was hopeless. He caught her arms before she could fall and when her legs refused to steady he just let her fall forwards onto his chest with his arms wrapped in a protective, never-ending circle around her. She breathed deeply. He smelled of sunlight and the sea and wet earth and mangoes. This time he dared speak first.

"What…what were you doing?"

She looked up with slumberous eyes, startled by his words. His chin was tilted to the side, observing her critically. "I-I…" she pulled away and dragged a muddy hand through her hair. "I was…swinging."

He arched an eyebrow and laughed. _He looks so unguarded and boyish when he laughs_, she thought. The laugh quickly dissipated. "You don't like it up there?"

"Of course I like it up there, it's just I wasn't planning to spend my day unbearably bored in a tree." He nodded slowly.

"Oh."

"Where'd you go?"

He shrugged dismissively and turned when she placed a hand on his shoulder. She felt the muscles there beneath her hand vibrate and she quickly pulled away. "Uhh, is there anywhere to…take a bath out here?"

He considered her flatly for a moment and then offered the crook of his arm.

She stared down at it quizzically. "What?"

"Come with me."

She began to loop her arm through his, but he pulled back. "No", and just like that he scooped her up in one arm, charged laughing to the edge of the jungle ravine and leapt off while she screamed in his arms and buried her nose in his shoulder. When his legs buckled beneath him on solid ground again, she fought and spat to be free of his arms but he just laughed and held her tighter, mocking her. She gave up after several fruitless attempts, he was just too strong. After what seemed like mere minutes due to their speed, he dropped down lightly in a shaded, tropical area where a cyan blue spring ran cool and glittering in the afternoon sunlight. Her eyes became two blue orbs, putting the water to shame. He allowed her to slide out of his arms and then nodded to her and picked up speed, then clutched at a vine and was soon gone. Entranced by the spring, she paid him no heed and made sure to view it from all angles before she stripped out of her sweaty overalls and damp blazer and slipped into the revitalizing clarity of water.

There was no doubt he was tempted to watch her, but he knew it to be immoral and fleetingly dismissed it from his mind. Of course, he would have to return sometime to bring her back, wouldn't he? He sat on the bough of a tree, munching on ripe wild apples until he was through with the fourth, at which point he decided that someone could've walked the length of the island and back in that time, and soon found Claire, sitting dejectedly at the edge of the spring with her fist under her chin. When he arrived, her dreaming eyes hardened.

"Where were you? So much for a bath, I'm freezing now!"

Without hesitation, he answered, "I didn't know when you were coming out, so just to be on the safe side…"

She opened her mouth to remark, closed it thoughtfully, and then nodded. "I guess then."

"But", he began offering her his arm again. "If you're cold I could help you." Her eyes widened and shimmered, her mouth a small grimace. At her bewildered expression he laughed and turned his eyes to the trees. Slightly shaken she seated herself in his arm, casting wary glances his way, and then found herself involuntarily clutching at him as the ground fell away again. When he at last delivered her, "safe and sound", to his tree fort, she leaned out of the window, refusing to let go of his arm.

"Uhh…ummm…I-okay, I think I'm a-alright."

He nodded and drew back, and then folded his arms on the windowsill and rested his chin there, just staring at her. She stood and looked down at him warily. "What…?"

He shrugged, closing his eyes briefly and then continuing to stare. She felt equal to a bug under a microscope at that moment.

"……Well…I'm- she pointed back over her shoulder, "Going…in…"

He nodded slowly, and his eyes dropped away absently. "Okay, then I better be going too."

"Where?"

He hadn't expected that. "Uhh…Wada wants to talk to me or something…"

"A-are you in trouble because of me?"

He jutted his chin in the air. "No."

_Proud_, she thought, and smiled at him. He had never seen her smile at him before, but he liked it. He stared at her uncertainly for another moment or two, bit his lip, and then wheeled backwards and was gone.

"Where is girl? She no in village!"

"I know, Wada…"

"Then where she is?"

"On a…boat…"

"You take her to home, wherever home is! I know you take her to home!"

Glowering, Shiba marched out of the jungle hall and hightailed to his shelter. He plucked his spear from the base of the tree as he passed. He would need food that night too. He hacked and tore a path through the jungle, outrage darkening his eyes and his mind, when a movement directly ahead caught his watchful eye and he crouched instantaneously into the undergrowth. Squatting there, he could see nothing, but a soft rustling told him that the beast was approaching. He prowled a little further ahead like a puma waiting for the unexpecting hare, and then abruptly pounced.

He found himself crouching before Claire, who had fallen back and whose cheeks were flushed, startled. Her eyes were wide and her legs splayed where she had fallen on her bottom. She stared up at him listlessly. He lowered the spear he had prepared to drive through her heart, and cringed at the very thought.

"Claire…wh-what are you doing! Out here?! I could've…killed you!" He choked out the last bit as his voice rose hysterically, and Claire edged back a little. He rocked forwards on his hands and knees and began crawling towards her. "Do you think, do you ever THINK, that maybe, just maybe, going wandering around out here MIGHT not be safe!" He was practically shouting at her now, and had efficiently backed her up against a tree. Her eyes were wide with guileless terror and confusion. \

She managed, "Please don't shout at me…" in a tiny voice, but he just threw his hands in the air.

"Do you realize what just happened here!? I DON'T THINK YOU DO!" He was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek and she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face up against the tree. _Just make him go…_

He was quiet at last, his mouth open, breathing heavily, his eyes two incredulous brown pools. He saw her fear, how she was backed up, shrinking in a corner, and he tripped on the notion of moving away, but decided that _this_ would be better. Before he could so much as move, she whispered feebly, "_Please go away_."

Shocked with the hurt her words brought, his eyes narrowed, and she turned her head slowly to face him. "Claire…I…."

She turned her head sharply away, and her eyes glittered wetly. "_Please, Shiba. Go."_ His name no longer sounded the way it had before on her tongue, like it belonged. It was now a cold burden, misplaced. Burning with hatred for his words, he nodded slowly, rose, and strode off into the high growth. When Claire thought that he was far enough away, she burst into tears, clutching her stomach and falling hopelessly over the upraised roots of the tree, and he watched her from behind a curtain of foliage.

Okay, that's the end of that chapter, but I promise, the next one will be good. Please review!!


	4. Chapter 4, Monsoon

First of all, I'm sorry if I've portrayed the characters or scenes incorrectly to the game

First of all, I'm sorry if I've portrayed the characters or scenes incorrectly to the game. I've never actually played it, but I tried to fix up the other chapters as best I could. Thanks for the reviews and the helpful criticism! Again, Natusme owns Harvest Moon.

When Claire worked up the courage and the feeling into her legs, she stood and scrubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. Shiba was long gone off brooding in the jungle by now, so in the time she had to herself, Claire steered away from him and dwelled on her lost friends back home, her parents, how they would worry. Her old home. She thought of the sun of the mainland, how it was so different there. This sun here was a searing yellow ball of merciless tropical heat all day long, until dark when night blooming flowers spewed their fragrant, heady scent into the ever balmy breeze and sun became a white island moon. But here, in the cool humid jungle, in the shade of a green canopy that hid the deep blue sky, she found her heart drifting back to the shore, away from all this, to her _life_. She had never thought of being ship wrecked, let alone imagined it like this. Lurking in her restless thoughts, she nodded off into a doze.

Meanwhile, Shiba had gone off swinging furiously from branch to vine until his arms had finally become too numb to move and he had rolled off onto the feathery grass and just laid, fuming, in the blinding sun unconcealed by a lack of trees about him. He was breathing hard, seeing red, and he didn't know if it was from fatigue or pure self hatred, but utterly spent, he rolled over, cradled his head in his elbow, and dropped like lead into a fitful sleep. The sun beat down on his already tanned skin, by now far used to the drugging rays. It warmed his eyelids and as midday wore on, the harsh lines of his face smoothed back into the soft, boyish features and his mouth relaxed into a frown.

As the two slept on, and the sky deepened into storm, which seemed particularly common that year, the clap of thunder awoke Wada from a nap in his cot, and he sat straight up. The first thought that came to mind, was, _Shiba_. Acting instinctively, he swung out of bed, hobbled to the door and stared out through the gaps in the bamboo bars at the opaque slate sky throbbing with its belly full of thunder. His son should have come home. He shouldn't worry, Shiba knew how to take care of himself well, but why was he out in this weather, when lightning could strike easily in his path? _No_, Wada told himself. _It's Shiba, and Shiba strong._

Claire woke in the heart of the tropical storm to a clap of thunder overhead. Her blue eyes snapped open, bleary with sleep, and she struggled to a sitting position, pushing her wheat blonde hair behind her ears and turning over the day's events in her mind. Another resounding clap that sounded even closer, if possible, had her on her feet, shaking off the effects of the drowse and stumbling into the undergrowth. She realized how vulnerable and insignificant she was when it came to nature. The rain made her hair sleek as liquid gold as she pushed past stiff ribbon weed as tall as herself and the prickling fronds of colossal ferns. As she trekked, blinded by heavy sheets of rain and panic, her clothes clinging to her skin like Velcro, she thought of the family she had been boarded with on the little ferry, how they had all been knit so close that even near death at sea hadn't torn them apart. Tears welled in her eyes, and she abruptly found her foot wedged beneath a jutting stone, and more or less crumpled into a defeated heap on the peaty soil. Her knee was trickling blood that was rapidly washed across her skin with each wave of rain, but she was unfeeling to the pain, and even in her state of utter aloneness and misery, she couldn't help but feel pitiful for what she screamed next.

"SHIBA!"

His name, had he heard his name? Shiba squatted, knuckles sinking in the drenched earth, eyes narrowed and ears alerted at the sound. It had been a mere breath on the wind, but had it only been a trick of the storm, an echo brought to his ears on the drafts of the monsoon? After a minute of careful listening without reward, he edged to the lip of the ravine and peered down into the foliage entangled depths, then up across the gap to lower earth, where his looming tree fort was wedged in the great arms of the gnarled tree. It was the absolute king amongst its kind, of that he was sure. However, the sound of his name on the wind, which he was now positive he had heard, twinged regretfully in the back of his mind. He turned his head to peer around the murky jungle. There it was again, definitely not just a trick of the storm. It was no louder, perhaps even feebler the second time, but this time he had been prepared for it, and of it he was sure. Who else could it be, but Claire? The memories of that past day which he had until now successfully stashed in a dark corner of his mind came back to him with irritating clarity, and it was the equivalent of his head being set on fire. Without giving it another thought, he pounded off through the battering gales and stinging rain, unfeeling, but for her.

Was it weak? She thought as she sat on a moss eaten log. Calling…for _him?_ She was in the middle of a rainstorm, not on the brink of death. She shivered violently, unable to keep her teeth still, and her face was sheer white from the freezing rain and air. Well, she wouldn't just sit there like a helpless damsel in distress, because that was most certainly not what she was. No, she would go on, with or without his aid. Resolved, she stood testily, and gathering her wits, began her journey through the jungle. _It'll be a long one_, she told herself as she shouldered her way through the overgrown mass of vines and plant life. Her arms prickled with the cold through the sopping arms of her plaid blazer, and she hugged them to her overalled chest, praying that the rain would just let up, just this one time. She wiped her nose on her sleeve. Branches returned her weak shoves with strikes across her face, and she flinched but would not let up. The rain obviously had no intention of doing so either, despite her numerous requests. After stumbling through mud and foliage for a good hour in the downpour, her knees buckled involuntarily and she collapsed into the dirt. The rain mercilessly draped her in its icy embrace, and she found herself falling back, numbing, until she found her head pillowed comfortably on spongy earth.

While Claire dozed trance-like, Shiba was ripping his way through the jungle, a kind of concern that he had never experienced, past brotherly and most certainly not fatherly, compelling him to not lose hope as he swung overhead, searching below and scouring every clearing, even the beach. _Where_ was_ she?_ He bellowed in his mind. Maybe it was best if she heard him…then maybe she could answer? He caught onto a tree and instead of releasing, he clung, staring out over the numerous other treetops and hesitating on the notion before roaring, "CLAAAAIRE!" Of course, she was unable to answer him as she surfaced in and out of a drugged sleep where cold clutched at her with chilled fingers and had her murmuring restlessly. A frantic loss of faith at the lengthy silence battled down his earnestness, and alarmed, he dropped from the tree and focused on running, mindless of the branches whipping at his face, his tattooed cheeks etched in lines of former races through his native woods. He bounded into the high grasses where he knew the heart of the jungle to be, and had only swerved to avoid a wild array of protruding roots when his bare toes lodged beneath something soft and firm and he fell with a startled yowl face first in the mud. He lay still for a moment, and when he pulled his face free of the mud with a soft sucking sound, looking highly unamused, and looked over his shoulder at the obstacle, all that he could see was blonde hair poking over a plaid collar. His thoughts came in a free wave then, as though he had finally allowed them passage, but were quickly washed away by the rain and his fateful discovery. He clambered over to her, squatted habitually in his leopard skin kilt and fingered a narrow white hand, dragged from the swallowing mud. _Wait, what am I doing, sitting here watching her die!?_ His eyes bulged. Die?! He didn't really believe that!? But it was a likeable possibility as he rolled her back into his arms for the second time. It wasn't like the first. She was a cold, drenched heap of limp limbs and dripping material, but then again, she hadn't been much else the first time. A grin tugged at his mouth, but he kept it down in the heat of the moment and glanced around. Picking out his trail of choice easily, he started off towards his shelter with the lifeless girl in his arms.

Claire was still sunken in a dead sleep when Shiba halted at the base of the tree. It loomed, challenging overhead, but he found in situations such as this which required it, that he moved nimbly up the footholds and vines until he could roll her down onto the floor from the window. When he actually reached his _entrance_, however, he found himself considering the window. It was so rough, and just so…unfit, to just push her through the window, no matter if it was easier, and bonus, she was unconscious. But he found that he just couldn't pull himself together enough to do it and with great care, he stepped painstakingly through the window, balancing Claire in his arms like an infant, and then stumbled in, succeeding in maneuvering his weight disproportionately in just such a way so that he found himself seated on the floor with Claire lifeless across his lap. Slightly embarrassed with himself at the unorthodox entry, he averted his eyes to Claire, for he would have to move her. Again, he found himself considering. She would never know. She was unconscious. And he wanted to so badly. But that would be taking advantage, if she didn't wish it. Color rose to his cheeks as he stared down at her, expecting those twin sapphire orbs to flicker open any second, but of course, they remained firmly shut. He hadn't been taught anything about the opposite gender, with his lifestyle and all, but he knew by animal instinct alone, and strictly animal, that it might go something like this.

Haha, sorry to leave you hanging like that, and also, I'm writing at night and I tend to do better in the morning so I might have to fix some stuff later. Anyways, review!


	5. Chapter 5, Smiling Eyes

I don't own Harvest Moon and blah blah, yeah, you know

I don't own Harvest Moon and blah blah, yeah, you know.

Claire's eyelids were too heavy for her to open, and her mind a throbbing burden. She felt faintly wind on her cheeks, but the cold was dead to her. The next thing she knew, she was being jostled unceremoniously, and then, well, dropped. But she was half unconscious for the entire time that Shiba spent just staring at her after that, hesitating on several unlikely notions. _What is your problem, just do it!_ He screamed at himself. It wasn't as if it was anything that mattered. Again, she was also unconscious, which might've made it worse, but how long would he wait? She would never know! She would never, ever, ever… Just as Claire's eyes slitted groggily open, Shiba had lowered his face a mere inch away from hers. His eyes were intent on her lids, and when they slid away to reveal glittering water blue slits, his went very still, and then gradually widened. He drew back, stiffening his spine. She yawned dubiously and rolled over in his lap, staring up at him.

"Umm…"

He shot a fearful glance down at her, his cheeks flaming unknowingly.

"I've had rainwater and mangoes to eat since I came here…and I'm starving."

He stared at her a moment longer with that horrified expression on his face. She swallowed a laugh. He did look goofy, sitting there tensely staring down at her as though she had just seen him commit a crime rather than get a little too close for comfort. Then his features relaxed as he took in what she had just said, visibly relieved.

"Okay then, what you like?"

She marveled at his ability to make the poor English sound so utterly entrancing. He blinked expectantly, and she shook her head. "Uhh, whatever's around. You've got to have fish, right?"

To her bafflement, he beamed and nodded vigorously, scooped her up in his arms as though she weighed no more than his spear, which he plucked up with the other, and sauntered to the window. "Many fish. I teach you to harpoon. Wada teach me. But you learn fast." And with a sort of flourished finality, he plunged from the window, leaving the speechless Claire to squeeze her eyes shut and cling for dear life in their descent.

When he swung up into the wide boughs of a squat tree overlooking the bay, he hesitated, knuckles white as he leaned his weight forth and looked out over the water. He turned his head sharply and his eyes searched the shore, where the castaways had set up a homely camp in a horeshoe skirting of trees. After a moment, he turned back to her, his eyes narrow. "Come." She opened her mouth to protest as his fingers curled vise-like over her wrists. A little squeak of pain emitted from her open mouth as her hand went numb with the pressure, but he didn't so much as glance back at her, which she thought unusual, but instead dragged her swiftly and one might say even gracefully down from the tree, dropping down and whirling around to catch her in his arms. He made as though to run with her, and she wriggled.

"You don't have to carry me around like an infant, Shiba. I think I can make it down the shore."

He regarded her with slightly confused, hurt eyes. She felt her heart trip a little, and struggled for a quick way out. "In fact…do you want to race?"

His brow furrowed as he considered her offer. "Race? …You sure? I fast."

She nodded confidently, her mouth pulled into a challenging grin. At her expression, he did the same, and let her slide from his arms onto the cool sand. She enjoyed the brief moment where he stared determinedly down at her, but she was oblivious to her surroundings but for the warm throb of the evening sunset glow over her face, the cold, white sand and the fragrant, balmy breeze. When her eyes opened again to a peacock blue sky, and she smiled dazzlingly and turned to face him, she saw that his features were soft with focus and interest. Her smile faltered as she turned quickly back, her gaze locking in on the bay immediately. "O-okay. Ready, Shiba?"

His mouth widened into a grin and he nodded, his eyes regaining their eager glitter and daring expression. "Alright…GO!" Claire actually felt her hair swish past her face as he bolted at breakneck speed, his lean V torso rippling as he pounded down the shore, nearly halfway there. She set off, knowing that there was no chance of gaining lead, but not wishing to give up, she wasn't even halfway when he waded at a heavy-footed canter into the shallow water there. Smiling despite her definite loss, Claire struggled to the water, and then collapsed, the saltwater lapping at her sides and her cheeks, reflecting her eyes beneath exhausted lids. Shiba was laughing, a gloriously rich sound, and then she found herself scooped up and thrown playfully into the deeper water. She thrashed momentarily, and when her feet hit bottom she laughed too, and clomped back to the shore where he was already resting on his back, his chest heaving, but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and danced in his eyes. When Claire hauled herself up beside him and flopped down flat on her belly, laughing in short bursts, Shiba propped himself up on his elbow and turned his face to her.

She was still breaking up at odd intervals when he cut in to her merriment, "You still want to fish?"

She rested her cheek on the sand, her eyes slumberous as she yawned, "Oh…yes. Haha, that's why we came here in the first place, isn't it?"

He closed his eyes and nodded, not seeming in the least bit worn out but unfathomably serene. The sun was a fiery ball sinking low over the glittering blue sea, leaving a sunlit path over the sloshing waters in its wake.

"I-I'd forgotten how hungry I was, what with…haha."

_She sounds like a hummingbird when she laughs…_ he mused. When he realized that she was regarding him with an arched brow, he jolted, slightly startled. Amusement flickered in those two water blue orbs, and Shiba forced himself into an upright position. "We better go fish then."

Claire was absolutely mesmerized by him, so she only nodded agreeably when he suggested the notion. When she continued to stare silently, he gulped uncomfortably and hesitated before vaulting lithely to his feet, which seemed entirely natural to him but impressed Claire, and then spun around and offered his hand. Her eyes traveled to his, and one corner of her mouth curled before she gripped his hand and was jerked to her feet. She felt slightly off balance, but remained as outwardly together as possible. He didn't question her, though his eyes remained watchful on her as she ambled stiffly with him to the shoreline. Presently, he guided her onto the grassy point, right out to the grassy lip, and then spread his arms over his head, opened his mouth in a content smile and sighed. Claire felt uplifted herself to see him so enlightened by the ocean, and as the salt spray moistened his cheeks to a golden sheen, she found her mind wandering, far off to the mainland. An old song played in her mind, about a man falling in love with a girl out in their boat on the choppy ocean blue, in the lustrous glow at sunset…she cast her gaze back to Shiba. His eyes reflected the water shimmering off the sun, and when he felt her gaze penetrating the back of his skull, he turned to her smiling widely, and laughed for good measure, which split her own features into a grin. Warmth seeped into her as he knelt down to the water and ran his fingers through the blue. Blue, like her eyes.

Hahaha, I am SO excited for the next chapter, like I'm really into this. Uhhkay keep reading and reviewing!!


	6. Chapter 6, Fishing in the Dark

Ooh, I'm so stoked to write this ahah

Ooh, I'm so _stoked_ to write this ahah. Again, I do not, I repeat, NOT own Harvest Moon.

"You ready?"

"Uhh…I guess?"

Shiba nodded. "Good."

Claire looked on dubiously. There was a long pause on her part before curiosity got the better of her. "What are you doing? Don't you need a fishing pole for _fishing_?"

He turned to her. She was grateful at least that he didn't stare at her as though she were a _complete_ idiot. Instead he explained patiently, "I no use fishing pole. Here, I show you." He snatched up both her hands in his and hauled her with him to her knees by the water. He thrust her fingers into the water. "Now…" She glanced up expectantly. "Do you feel water?"

She snorted and shrugged in a matter-of-fact way. Slightly taken aback but nonetheless undaunted he continued calmly, "You see how water moves? You- he moved her hands lazily back and forth in the seawater –Move hands like this. Follow rhythm of water. Fish live in water, so they too live in hands." His wise explanation left her speechless and confident in her task, but nevertheless doubtful. She felt her muscles unwind and her entire body become water as she flowed and lapped with it, feeling it moving with her fingers instead of gushing through them. Perhaps this was the secret to true happiness. There was no use in attempting vainly to cage the elusive. You could only flow with it, live it, be one with it, and you would find a closeness that exists in nothing else. Shiba watched her with intense amazement, reluctant to break the trance and the bond. Suddenly, there was a solid, slippery form sliding through her splayed fingers, and Claire jolted, closing her fingers fast over the fat, struggling fish. When she tossed it out, breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed with energy, Shiba chuckled and slammed his knee expertly into the fish's skull, a quick death. Claire was too exhilarated to notice.

He waited a moment, kneeling and gazing on in keen amusement, and when at last she seemed to resurface, he laughed and threw his arms over his head. "You did it, Claire! You catch fish! You fast learner!"

She flushed a little deeper at his enthusiasm and pride in her before he abruptly whisked her off her feet and spun her around, laughing. How she loved that laugh. When at last he plunked her back down on the ground, she was woozy from the aftermath of the spin and he victorious from her grand feat. "We will cook fish now. _Your_ fish, Claire."

She beamed at him. He announced it as if she had just caught a hunk of gold rather than a measly fish, but a prize it was, and soon, he had a fire of sun baked palm fronds roaring in the last throbbing rays of sunlight dwindling over the water. Shiba coaxed her into toasting to her triumph, raising his skewered fish in a grand gesture of importance. She echoed this, and then ate, and she had never tasted fish so delicious. It might have been because she had nothing but jungle fruits for awhile, or the fact that she was famished, but either way, she devoured it within the minute with Shiba close behind. She glanced down at the bare, blackened skewer on which her roasted fish had just minutes ago been. She should have savored it, made it last. Who knows how long she would have to wait for more food. Unless…

"Shiba?"

At her hopeful tone, he rocked forwards on crossed legs. "Mhm?"

"I…I don't mean to sound greedy, but…could I go catch another fish? Just one? I'm still kind of hungry…"

First confusion, amusement, and then solemnity lit his eyes. "You have to ask ocean, Claire."

She nodded. She should've known he would've said something like that, but then again, why? Why would she ask _him_ for a fish? He was just as insignificant as she when it came to such matters. Feeling foolish, she scrambled to her feet, and taking a deep breath, tip-toed to the shoreline. Shiba leaned back to view the spectacle amusedly.

Cursing herself viciously as she crept to the oceanside, she hesitated momentarily before kneeling down alongside the frothing bay. When she looked out to the horizon, she saw that sunrays had been replaced by the crown of a white moon that was now rising slowly from the sea. She cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed. Uhh, hi…ocean…" She sighed and rolled her shoulders. _It's just you and the water, Claire, and all those fish down there in the deep. Talk to _them. She nodded affirmatively to herself, barricading her surrounding besides the ocean and night moon and addressing the aquatic inhabitants directly. "Look…does it seem like murder? I mean, you were here before us, so you would be superior to us greedy humans, right? You just live your lives and swim freely when oneday, _Oh, look, food. I need it to live, why don't I go eat it?_ And then you're flailing on a hook, being stared at and criticized by giants not for who you are, but _what_ you are. I just…people need food to survive. It's the food chain. It's messy and it's unfair, but please. I'm asking you, ocean, too, because you hold dear to you and keep safe these many beings, that maybe you could let one go, for the life of…another?"

Shiba was entirely caught up in her conversation. His eyes dreamed intensely, and he was oblivious to everything but the sound of her voice. His eyes began to involuntarily drift shut. He hadn't realized how tired he was…and then, "SHIBA! Shiba! Look! The ocean gave me a fish!" Shiba sat bolt upright, his eyes wide with disoriented surprise, which soon turned to pride. "All I did was ask, like you said, and the second I finished, this monster floated right into my hands, probably died of old age judging by the size! It's magic, it has to be! I'll share, since you helped me catch it!" Shiba's eyes went saucer-wide with surprise as she dashed up the bank to him, throwing her one unoccupied arm around him. "Thank you, Shiba," she whispered delightedly in his ear, and then released him and turned to the fire. As she was kneeling before the flickering glow of the fire, Shiba was swaying with the impact of that one simple embrace. His cheeks flushed. It was just a…just a _hug_! His shaken gaze moved to her back, still clothed in overalls, with her hair pushed back. He supposed she would be needing new clothes sooner or later…who could wear heavy overalls and a long sleeved shirt like that in a sweltering jungle like this? Feeling slightly guilty, he shuffled over discreetly until he was almost directly behind her.

Claire didn't notice his shadow yawning over her until she brushed her blackened hands off on her knees with triumphant swagger and made to stand. As she did, she found herself backed up against…well, it could only be Shiba. He took a step back as she turned halfway around with her eyes still on the fire. He was amazed when they steered to his. Water, cool and dazzlingly blue, against tongues of heated flame, lashing the surface, undaunted, but leaving the flawless complexion of a still bay. His heart screamed it, and somehow, a fragment of it caught in his mind, in his arms and his legs as he closed the distance between them. Claire's eyes were two wide, wavering blue pools of moonlight and fire, Shiba's steely, deepening brown. There was fire behind her, he in front of her, or were they the same thing? She darted to the side, but his arm shot out and caught hers gently. He shook his head, and her feet moved back into place directly in front of him. He lowered his forehead to hers and rested there with closed eyes, breathing deeply. When he didn't move after a minute straight, Claire began to wonder if he were meditating, but then his head darted up unexpectedly and his eyes flitted to the forest. There was sudden shouting in the trees. "SHIBA! SHIBA, YOU COME HERE NOW!"

He squeezed her shoulders, his eyes boring into hers, finding trust where it was so desperately needed. "We not make it if we run to trees. He in there now."

"I-I know, Shiba. But he's your father. Won't he understand?"

Shiba shook his head firmly.

"Oh. Well…"

When Shiba's gaze drifted off down the shore and his eyes lit with excitement, it was her turn to shake her head. His expression changed to bewilderment. "Where then!?"

"Right _here_. The ocean gave me this gift, life, so that I could have mine, and I will _not_, EVER waste a life!"

At her burst of passionate indignance, Shiba swallowed a smirk and agreed helplessly. It was then that Wada's hobbling form came springing from the trees, and laughing, Claire took hold of Shiba's hand and leapt into the water.

Shiba was shocked by the cold and Claire's outgoing actions, but he laughed and gurgled with her, both clutching at the shore to keep afloat in the seething, bottomless sea. "Please," Claire began as she was tossed in the waves, reminded of when she had first been washed up on the island. "Sea, I know we have asked for much already, and I know as is our custom we take without asking, but I ask you now. Please, for the second time, will you aide us. Be a savior. Keep us afloat on your watery skin and give us life. We would be forever grateful, though I know we have once asked for life already."

Shiba was left speechless by her words, but it did seem as though the merciless tide was slowing. Soon, the churning commotion eased to a gentle rocking movement that would have put Claire to sleep had it not been for the freezing sensation penetrating her skin. She clutched involuntarily at Shiba's hand as soft, rapid footprints thudded overhead. Then his father's primitive voice bellowed, "SHIBA, YOU NO HIDE FROM ME, I YOUR FATHER!" After a brief search of the point and the campfire, he stared out across the shore and bounded off, roaring and rattling his cane the entire way. After a minute had passed of silence, Claire dug her nails into the rim of sod and hoisted herself up, dripping and shivering violently. Then Shiba, laughing shakily. Claire was already huddled as close to the fire as she could get without being burned, gnawing on a skewer of fish, and Shiba was close behind. It took a good hour of shivering by the fire for Shiba, wearing only furs and his own skin, to dry, and Claire another. Slightly more comfortable, she stared over the flames at Shiba's fire lit eyes, flickering brown and gold. As if reading her thoughts, he stood and rounded the fire to her side, where he huddled up next to her.

"Stars are sky spirits." She hadn't realized he was gazing up now instead of forwards, and she leaned back similarly and followed his gaze to the millions of pristine diamonds above. "They glitter, like you reyes." Claire fought down a furious blush and grinned, still watching the night sky flicker and deepen, with the moon a silver sentennial amidst it all. Her laughing eyes lowered to Shiba, and she was unnerved to see him much closer than she would've preferred and gazing piercingly into her eyes. She averted her gaze haltingly back to the stars, but her mind worked furiously. _The night will drape over them like a blanket, the stars in their eyes as they watch one another, as romance sings in the fragrant night air, out in the old boat on the water…_ Hah! They weren't on the water. Suddenly extremely uneasy, Claire stood abruptly.

"I think we should go, Shiba."

"…Now?"

"Yeah, now."

He looked highly reluctant as he stood with her and shrugged. "But Claire…?"

She sighed and rolled her shoulders. "Wha- Suddenly, he was right beside her, kissing her cheek. Well, in his own way. Claire's cheek was burning where the warm sensation lingered. _Did he just…lick me?_ Shiba looked equally embarrassed as he was a complete stranger to such emotions and righteous acts, and Claire stood awkwardly feeling like a postage stamp…or a dog.

Hehe, keep reading, and review, hope you're liking the story so far!


	7. Chapter 7, Enemy

Natsume owns Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness.

There was a long, unbearably awkward silence in which Claire stared at her feet and breathed heavily and Shiba averted his eyes this way and that, though they always seemed to rest back on her. Finally, she spoke. "Uhh, Shiba."

He nodded quickly like a humiliated child. She felt pity growing like a weed in her heart. She appreciated the gesture and felt moreover loved by it, but the fact of the matter was… "Did you just lick me?"

He shrugged, and Claire couldn't choke back a smile and a laugh. Shiba looked up sharply, regarding her in puzzlement. To her surprise, Shiba spoke abruptly, "There no females on island…and I think if there was I still like you better Claire…and I no lick, no I give you kiss." So that was his way of telling her, then? How he felt. Claire was exhilarated and nervous by her own actions as she marched right up to him and licked his bronzed, tattooed cheek back. She could practically feel him blushing, and though she felt foolish, she realized that her gesture probably meant a lot being returned. She had meant it too, and that thrilled, that she really liked Shiba. He was smiling so wide that his flaming cheeks grew sore, and inside he was just as warm.

"Th-th-then you want to g-go back?"

Claire shrugged happily. "I'll race you."

It was dark when the two thoroughly exhausted teenagers arrived at Shiba's fort. He clambered up himself, glancing cautiously now and again back at Claire as she had refused to be carried, and when she rolled through the window at last, panting, Shiba was already settled in on the floor. "You sleep in hammock if you want," he yawned as she clambered to her feet, fatigued, and traipsed to the swinging bed. She didn't even make it to, "Good night," before she collapsed into the hammock, her legs still dangling over the side, and was fast asleep. Shiba smirked to himself and soon fell into a dead sleep.

"Shiba…? Shiba! SHIBA!"

When Shiba heard his name whispered furiously in his ear, he rolled over and mumbled groggily, unused to disturbances. When it continued, he sat up, yawned, and stretched luxuriously. Irritated despite himself, he hissed, "What?!"

Ignorant of his tone, Claire curled her fingers over his arm, her eyes deeply afraid. "There's something outside! I heard it, the entire fort shook!"

"Probably lemur or sloth bear, no worries. Go to sleep." He spoke dismissively and rolled over, nearly falling back to sleep when the fort did indeed rattle unexpectedly. Claire whimpered uncharacteristically.

"You see?"

He turned over, attention caught. "Oh…but if anything happen, Claire, I protect you." He didn't seem to notice the significance of his heartfelt words to her as he wriggled back onto his side. This time she swallowed a small sound of fear and hastened fretfully back to her hammock, but even when she had settled carefully into the sweet smelling mesh, she couldn't sleep. Images of madly thrashing bears and a charging pack of slathering wolves danced over the insides of her eyelids and she tossed and turned until there was a sudden, sharp snarl from directly below. She froze, too afraid to even open her eyes. She couldn't bear to move, and certainly not speak to wake Shiba. Then his voice carried to her lofty perch from below. "_Claire…Claire you right. I go down and see, but you stay here."_ She noticed a certain sort of firmness in his voice, along with edginess amongst the practiced serenity. The vines strained under his weight as he crept over the floor, and when she moved her head haltingly to gaze horrified into his soft brown eyes, she found in them warmth that she had not expected, and he managed a hopeful grin before touching his fingers to his cheek and darting out of the window.

Rain had set in awhile back, pattering over the heavily thatched roof and trickling off of the sloped sides. Thunder had rolled in, illuminating a black island sky with blue lightning strikes that hurled the sea into a frenzy. Wind whipped at the fort, rocking it back and forth as below, there were several loud, muffled sounds below that were quickly drowned out by the gales and the roar of the tide. Claire's heart was in her mouth as she struggled to remain in one place, listening intently. The suspense grew and for awhile there was silence. She paced, forehead beaded in a cold sweat until there was an abrupt scrabbling at the side of the fort. Exuberant and utterly relieved she rushed to the side and poked her blonde head out of the window. Just as soon, she recoiled with a drawn out scream of terror and flattened herself against the opposite wall. The leopard slunk in, claws grappling bamboo, before dropping stealthily onto the floor. It spread its claws, scenting flesh, and its long plumed tail flicked as it prowled lingeringly to the corners of the dwelling, all the while its hackles on end, and a growl deep in its throat. As lightning crashed far off, the leopard's obsidian pelt shimmered but then delved back into the shadows, and quite suddenly something prickly and unlike fur brushed her shin.

Unable to control herself, Claire shrieked on instinct and vaulted clean over the cat. It dipped low, its lithe, elongated form on guard, snarling and batting the air at the sharp movement. Then its head whipped around, and bone silver eyes fixated on her, two liquid pools regarding her hungrily. There was only one way to go. She felt the window ledge under her sweaty palm, squeezed her eyes shut, saw the hanging vine in her mind's eye. As the jungle cat leaned back on its haunches, she whipped around and found herself sliding down the vine in the pouring rain. Above, the outraged yowls were a meager reward as her grip was lost a good three meters above the ground and she tumbled into a leafy ditch.

At first, all that she could see staring straight up was a black, boiling sky. As she turned her head weakly, there were red fern leaves like great rippling umbrellas. Over the cacophony, the soft thud of ebony paws didn't reach her, and then the foliage was parting in front of her, and the black face was there, hot breath smelling of a thousand dead antelope hot on her cheek, silver eyes boring into hers as she struggled to look away. A growl rose in its sleek throat, and then there was another sound, a primitive, wild scream, part straining grunt as Shiba barreled into the cat's exposed side.

A breath of air escaped its mouth on a wheeze before it was flung to the side, Shiba close on it even as it unfurled swiftly to its feet and cleared the distance to where Claire lay, moving stiffly into an upright position. When Shiba saw her lying there, in full view of death when he had suspected her to be up in the tree in _grave_ danger, he sprang onto the leopard's back, and shocked, it bucked and snarled, he wrestling it until at last it toppled and he pinned it, digging his elbow into its sleek throat. It choked and kicked, and was at last freed. But it wasn't done yet. It appeared to be backing down as it retreated into the skirting of palms, and Shiba relaxed slightly. Then much to his outraged surprise, it galloped past him and pounced full fledged onto Claire's back. Halfway to her feet, she collapsed under the weight, while the writhing black body merged with hers, claws flailing and gripping white flesh, teeth caught in yellow hair. Shiba went wild with fury and panic. He hadn't wished to, but with a cry of anguish he drove the spear into the leopard's back. Claire gazed up into it's wide, wild eyes, petrified out of her mind, when suddenly, the silver orbs widened and rolled off, glazing over before the limbs holding her down went limp and the beast crumpled on top of her.

Keep reading, gonna make the next chapter happier!


	8. Chapter 8, Vera

Natsume owns all Harvest Moon trademarks

Natsume owns all Harvest Moon trademarks. 

Shiba was scrubbing furiously at his eyes with the heels of his palm, his lean chest heaving with his exertions. Claire was sitting with her knees pulled up under her chin, staring at the still, muscle packed body that only a minute ago had been raking at her feverishly with hooked claws and vengeful eyes. Now the knotted shoulders were sunken and the skin cold and glossy with blood. When she glanced up fearfully at a grieving Shiba she saw to her bafflement that his eyes were shimmering wetly and glazed with something like coldness. Confused, she stood shakily and crept warily to his side. It was like confronting a cold, hard brick wall.

"Shiba…?" she began hesitantly. He was silent. She cleared her throat and tried again, but before she could utter the first syllable, he whirled on her.

"You come in here, poor little farm girl, and you change everything! Look what you do! All YOUR fault!" His eyes blazed with outrage as he backed her up against the wall. She was shaking with fear and confusion.

"What did I- she began, hysterical, but he cut her off, dropping to his knees before the fallen cat and cradling its great domed skull.

"Vera would no die if you not here!"

For a moment, utter puzzlement. Then, slowly, Claire's eyes widened with realization and defiance. "How dare you blame me!"

He stood and screamed back, "Why shouldn't I?!"

Now it was a competition, and bellow after bellow shook the fort between the two. "You have no right!"

"You should have stayed with other castaways, where you belong!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You should know!"

"WELL-…well…I don't, a—and it's too late for you to be angry with me! Remember, _you_, brave little Tarzan in your pretty tree fort just _had_ to come save the damsel in distress!"

Shiba opened his mouth to protest, but then cocked his head, turning over her foreign words in his head. Tarzan…damsel in distress? "ANYWAY!" he barked presently. "Would you like drowning better!? This never would happen if you just stayed with own kind!"

"What never would have happened!?" She was close to tears now, but bit down hard on her bottom lip, though still her voice cracked.

"THIS! All- he gestured wildly with his arms around him, -of _this_! Vera's dead, my…she my only companion out here, and fearless and fearful warrior she was, but now, her life and bold heart, wasted! By YOU! My father despises me, and you make _me_ outcast! You ruin everything?!"

Claire was too struck speechless to reply, but she managed at last, though it was painstakingly difficult with Shiba glowering darkly at her all the while from his corner. "S-so…you want me to go th-

"LEAVE!" Startled and deeply hurt, Claire swallowed a sob before nodding stiffly, squeezing her eyes shut to avoid his as she turned to that suddenly cold, barren window, and clambered silently out into the downpour.

For a time, Shiba sat curled up in a dark corner of his fort, brooding and regretting, but praying at the same time for Vera's spirit, as was custom, and planning her burial in his mind. Anything to keep it off of Claire. He recalled his harsh words to her in his mind and cringed. He might as well have struck her. And then his eyes darted to the window at each brilliant crash of lightning nearly overhead. She could very well freeze. And then it really hit him. Claire could die out there. Pneumonia, lack of shelter, wild animals, lightning, and if she made it through the night she would freeze in the morning. Plus she would have no idea of where she was going. She could misstep and plummet to the bottom of the ravine to her death, or stumble about lost and blind and fall or get stuck and break a limb, unable to cry out over the clash of thunder and the howl of the wind. Panic seized his throat. It was positively irrational and inhumane. How could he have even_ thought_ about throwing her out as he had, coldly and without warning. And she was injured! Banishment. Forbidden. Deep, stinging regret and terror for Claire filled him. He went frantic, diving from the window. Yes, Vera had been brave, and also over-protective enough to try and kill a helpless Claire. It wasn't her fault. This was all wrong, wrong, wrong! He saw what Claire had. Dark, slippery branches. Frequently illuminated sky. Blinding sheets of stinging rain, freezing, whipping winds, deafening howling from all directions interrupted by the occasional crash of lightning. His mind spun as he felt out a path to the bottom, losing his footing more than once and wondering fiercely how Claire had ever made it to the bottom. Branches, frail and robust alike bowed and snapped under his hard, fumbling hands as he fought his way down frantically. When he reached a low point where it was possible to fall to the ground, he did just that. A torrent of mud spattered over his crude leopard leggings as he landed lightly, but directly beneath him, something caught his eyes. He tilted his sights earthward, and immediately scrambled backwards, shocked and horrified.

In fact, Claire _hadn't _made it to the ground. She had fallen, it appeared, from a great distance, for she was immobile, freezing and soaked through and through. Her unruly yellow hair was haloed about her head in a wild, florid array, and her water blue eyes were quietly concealed beneath pale lids. Shiba found an odd brotherly concern occupying all else as he gazed down at her with wide brown eyes. What was he doing, staring at her like a buffoon? He knelt immediately down into the mud at her side and gently nudged his trembling hands under her back. She was limp and light, and he imagined himself lifting a fern frond for all her fragility. A harsh electric blue flash of lightning left the air crackling and bright around him, and fleet and agile, he hunkered down as though about to pounce like Vera herself, and then sprang for the lowest bough, legs aching with the effort. He managed to cling with one arm, sinews taut with exertion. Sweat and rain beaded on his brow as he clenched his teeth and managed to haul the lifeless Claire up, up, and then quite suddenly, he was back where he had started. He righted himself from the mud and flexed his desperately sore arm. Now utterly caked in the damp and earth, he swiped at dirt-streaked cheeks and his thoroughly muddied limbs and garb before taking a different and perhaps more effective approach. Instead of diving for a grip, he retreated into the jungle growth, braced, and then barreled head-on for the mighty trunk.

On reaching it, he veered up lithely as if to continue running straight up the tree, but threw his arms out and sailed the first few feet up before the added weight dragged him back and he could only cling and reach out sharply, clutch a nearby branch and haul himself and his cargo up, then another and another until her weight was like lead on his back and the entire half length of the tree loomed ahead. His descent didn't carry him far, and he continued to be encumbered by Claire, causing him to lag or slip and once totter backwards. When it seemed as though his hardships were nearly over, he would be knocked off balance by the wind or a particularly potent blast of nearby lightning. The rain added considerable slickness to the tree's already smooth bark and made his exertions furthermore pointless and trying, but at last, his fingers were curling over the window ledge, white-knuckled and numb with cold. He made to pull himself up with a dogged grunt when the already poorly fastened window ledge came loose, sailing to the ground and bringing Shiba and Claire with it.

Thankfully, he managed to latch on to several branches along the way and ease the fall, but nevertheless, he found himself in a tangled, crumpled heap on the ground, Claire splayed out pathetically beside him. Bitterness and contempt filled him for the tree itself as he unceremoniously hoisted Claire onto his shoulder, bouncing her about like a doll, and stormed off through the jungle.

The monsoon didn't subside during his trek, if anything, it built to a mighty, howling climax, through which stumbled a blinded and unfathomably weary Shiba all the while supporting a lifeless Claire. He had sailed vacant-minded over the ravine, as it was merely routine, and then continued to tromp heatedly through the various obstructions, ferns, fallen trunks and many smoldering black patches of burnt grass. After tearing through a particularly dense area of foliage, his eyes distinguished two glaring beams of light ahead as those of the Jungle Council. Hope and relief flooded his heart and glowed in his face as he picked up his step and flounced all the way to the front door, anticipating expected cold welcome, but joyful nonetheless.

So sorry it took so long, but here's the chapter, FINALLY. Look forward to the next one!


	9. Chapter 9, A New Islander

Natsume owns everything Harvest Moon

Natsume owns everything Harvest Moon.

When Shiba stumbled through the bamboo door of the vast, clay thatched hut, he retained an air of ignorance even as his father leapt to his feet from where he had just moments earlier been dozing on the bearskin rug, and began flailing his long, gnarled cane over his head, jabbering vehemently of Shiba's insolence. This had been the family home for ages, and _family_ belonged there, not trespassing castaways. And somehow, through the blinding torrent of his father's rage, he maintained total obliviousness. He strode coolly past his own father, who was now in such a fit that his gaunt and usually wan face was flushed with outrage and disbelief.

Completely ignoring his fuming parent, he tread to the soft center of the rug and there knelt, gently depositing a thoroughly drenched and limp Claire upon the coarse red fur. He lingered a moment, gazing at her, and then rose warily. He could practically feel his father at his back. When he turned, to his surprise, the old man was staring down at the girl with cold eyes, but in them, to Shiba's confusion and bafflement, glinted mourn. When he opened his mouth to speak, his father held up a withered and many-lined palm and crossed to Claire's side, Shiba's eyes following his every movement in wonder. He crouched down immediately at her side though he seemed to shy away, afraid to touch her or even come too close. After all, she was a different race of human altogether, an outsider, a stranger. Nevertheless, he laid his hand hesitantly on her cool forehead, cringing but withstanding this "torture" for her sake. Or maybe it was for Shiba's? Whatever the case, he seemed to consider something for a moment, and then swiveled around to face his son, his face drained of color, and his eyes bleak.

"Son…" His voice cracked as he spoke, though Shiba could only guess it was from pure hatred for Claire. However, it seemed as though he had sorely misjudged his father, for instead, he explained grimly, "Sh-…she's-

Before he could finish, Shiba's heart leapt to his throat and he immediately felt woozy. His father seemed to sense it for he threw up both hands in a reassuring gesture and restated, "No…not dead. But, Shiba…how long she out in storm?" Shiba shrugged weakly. He was beginning to feel nauseous. Claire had nothing to do with it. It was his fault alone.

"Dunno, maybe hour…"

Wada considered this. "Hm. Well. That far too long for unadapted body." Shiba swallowed anxiously.

"Sh-she be alright though…right?" His father shrugged.

"She wounded…claw marks? And also freezing. She need new clothes."

"But we have no people clothes. Only leopard skin."

"Then that will do. No be picky! Get them. And your mother can dress her. We leave then, but first I must…heal her." His father spat out the last sentence like a bad taste on his tongue, but endured the "healing process" nevertheless. First, he tended to her wounds. He brought some moss from his medicine belt and clotted her free flowing wounds, and then lashed soft packed bark over them like bandages. As for thawing, which was to be done slowly and carefully, he placed her near the fire, but not too close to avoid instant defrosting and risk damaging her limbs or causing internal bleeding, and poured hot water stirred with a concoction of spiced honey and ginseng, which was to restore her strength and aid in her mobility when she was warm again. A blanket was draped over her, and then both men left the room, waiting just outside the door as Wada's humble wife tended to her clothing, in her own kind, motherly way carefully peeling away various cold, stiff garments and replacing them with soft, warm, but not so neatly cut, nor abundant leopard hide attire much like her son's. Wada and Shiba were then both promptly ushered back in, and Wada glanced distastefully at the sleeping girl, crinkling his nose though Shiba saw the glint of curiosity and pensiveness in his eyes when he passed. When the door slammed to his parent's own branch of the hut, they were truly alone.

Claire's breathing had transformed from shallow and ragged to even and deep, and he saw that her cheeks were slowly flushing and her eyelids had lost that pained expression that forewarned of the eyes beneath them. She looked cozy and totally at peace, and he found himself irresistibly drawn. After all, she was wearing jungle garb, the same that he wore, and seeing her clothed in his own attire, familiar and wild and fitting it, inexplicably warmed his cheeks. But he only stared, incapable of movement. He couldn't imagine her ever waking. It came as a slight jolt to his peaceful state of mind when she did. The corner of her mouth twitched, and then she stretched full out like a cat, feeling the warmth of a crackling hearth on her skin, and it was then that Shiba's desire faded into something like fear and guilt and shame. He could've actually killed her. That set him into a near dead run, and before she could open her bleary eyes and peer around, he was slamming the door behind him and already clambering to the roof top. The storm had peak and nearly subsided by then, and the watercolor grays and whites of dawn were soaking into an inky horizon. He bit his thumb as he sat there, brooding over the past events. Once out of pure angst and longing he dipped his head down over the lip of the roof to see in through the bamboo barred window, where Claire was up and about. Again, his heart ignited at the sight of her, a savage just like him in leopard hide, stalking around his own quarters. He managed to pull away, eyes darting this way and that. Would she ever forgive him? He sunk into silent thoughtfulness. If he were she…no, he wouldn't forgive himself just like that. He had done a terrible, life-threatening, cold-hearted thing to her. Any other day may have been acceptable to say the least, but at night in the middle of a monsoon? What had he been thinking? Once again, he found himself wracked with wrenching shame, and after a futile attempt of ridding himself of his mistakes with a few hard shakes of his head, he resorted to swinging amongst the jungle canopy. Perhaps his worries would be better forgotten there.

Now, here's the twist. Shiba had a cousin an island over. However, since birth, they had only ever seen each other once because of the yawning ocean between them. His mother's family had arrived on that island long ago, but some had been separated, as was the case with her sister, and she had borne a son, Hama. However, the single time that they had seen each other had been when Hama had roped a sea turtle and by chance it had drifted on past the island and he had been able to swim there, and later return on a makeshift raft. Hama had learned better English by his mother, who had been educated by her Caucasian husband. He had long ago died. But there was a drought there on the island, and as Hama's father was gone and his mother was sick, they had no choice but to return to their roots. And so it was, that very day around noon, when Claire was napping on the great bear rug and Shiba was just returning from his lengthy jungle escapade, that upon their shores washed a famished Hama and his sickly mother upon a crude raft of driftwood. Shiba was swinging the last distance when a flicker of movement caught his eye, and alighted on the ground, pelting the rest of the way through the jungle, skidding to a halt out on the baking sand. Hama stopped dead in the middle of the beach, his mother leaning heavily on his narrow shoulders. He grinned boyishly, and truth be told, the build of their faces was similar, though not so much appearances. Hama's hair was so dark brown that it was almost black, and his eyes equally dark, though his skin was creamy, unlike Shiba's. He had the traditional striped markings up his cheeks and arms, though his were olive green instead of orange, and instead of leopard skin sash, leggings, and sleeves, he had only long, dark ape hide knickers and a vine around him where the sash would be. After a long, calculating observation of one another the two boys greeted awkwardly, each unsure of what to say to the other. What do you say to a long lost relative? When Claire heard the commotion, she peeped through the window, awoken from her cat nap, and seeing Shiba and the equally short, stocky boy bearing his resemblance beside him and fast approaching, with an older woman hobbling along behind, she tore out the back way as fast as her stout legs would take her and clambered swiftly onto the rooftop. She decided it right then and there. Now that she had competition, she would have to prove herself further. This newcomer was obviously an islander, but she would show him, and Shiba, that she had what it took to take care of herself, and be equally wild.

Hope you liked this chapter, not so adorable with Claire and Shiba, I know, but I'm getting to it. Keep reading and review!!


	10. Chapter 10, Hama

Natsume owns all trademarks of Harvest Moon

Natsume owns all trademarks of Harvest Moon.

Claire was absolutely determined. However, her rage directed at Shiba roared higher when he ignored her for the remainder of that day. The one time she caught his gaze for a moment, he averted his eyes almost immediately, frowning. And he hadn't apologized, for all he'd done. Truth be told, Shiba was sick with heartache. He wanted desperately to tell her how sorry he was, but words just didn't seem to be enough, and probably never would be. And now the arrival of his cousin had mussed it all up. After their one fleeting shared glance that afternoon, Shiba didn't see Claire again for hours, and worry knotted in his stomach. Where could she be? Out in the jungle by herself? But he knew that she would be furious with him for coming after her, so he remained sullenly where he was.

Meanwhile, Claire was furiously teaching herself the jungle trade. She had watched Shiba enough to know how to harpoon a fish, and swing on a vine, and tie flint to a shoot for a spear, but what about other things? Hunting, for example, she would never do. She was against anything cruel to animals. There had to be more. And so she kept busy, swimming and fishing and swinging and running here and there, attempting in vain to even build her own fort. She couldn't imagine Shiba's diligence to keep the hefty loft atop the trees. Of course, it would have been far easier for Shiba simply to teach her, and she didn't care if she was being immature. She refused to speak to him, or better yet, even look at him. It was late in the day when she tired and swung back, not so lithe and smooth as Shiba, but she managed nonetheless, and it was then that Shiba and Hama were just striding out the front door. Now, as you recall, Hama had never before seen a girl his age, and certainly not one with milky skin, big blue eyes and long blonde hair, not to mention garbed in jungle wear and swinging on a vine. As it was, when Claire swung breezily overhead, alighting coolly on the rooftop above them, that Hama was struck speechless with shock and awe.

Feeling pleased with herself, Claire made to turn nonchalantly and dismount from the other direction, but Hama was atop the roof in a moment, standing tall and proud before her, but keeping his distance. She turned to him, fixing luminescent sapphire eyes upon his. The mischievous flicker in the black abyss of his eyes went out altogether, and was replaced by timidity. Shiba scowled at his cousin. As though Claire would have anything to do with him. But apparently, Claire thought differently for she stepped forward, uncharacteristically cat-like, and offered her hand. Hama stared down at it, blush throbbing in his cheeks. Shiba saw this and lunged for his side and stood there like some cold, stone gargoyle, eyes dark. "Hama," he began dryly. "This Claire." Hama's eyes twinkled and he shook her hand hard then, laughing. Claire's smooth appeal spiraled downwards at this and her eyes popped as she was jolted by the strength in the simple gesture.

When he withdrew his hand, leaving Claire to wring hers, he laughed, and in perfect English, Claire noted, "Yes, Shiba tells me all about you. Jungle girl. You came on the boat, then, with the other castaways?" Relieved to hear no trace of the grammatical errors that she had grown used to and even fond of in Shiba's voice she answered lightly, "Yep, that's me. I came from the mainland, but our boat sunk. So, how are you related to Shiba? Brother? Cousin?"

He nodded firmly at her last words. "Yes, I'm his cousin. Unfortunately for him, he never grew up around English speaking people, but he learned by listening to the castaways who have come to these shores over the years. You see, my father was a white man. He taught me all English, but my mother still only speaks our ancestral language." Claire nodded thoughtfully, but before another word could be exchanged Shiba whirled in front of Claire and demanded haughtily, " Where have you been!?"

Taken aback, Claire quickly smoothed her startled features and answered aloofly, "I have no idea what you mean?" and with a flick of her hair marched off. Shiba could only stare after her, flabbergasted.

"She no usually act like that…"

Hama ignored him and commented excitedly, "You never told me…you never said…she's amazing!" Shiba crinkled his snub tanned nose and decided to remain ignorant to the dazzled look in his cousin's face.

Claire brooded in a treetop for a good hour. A crested monkey waddled by on the branch, joining her silent rage for a moment, but frankly decided it best to leave, and again she was alone. When a rustling in the branches alerted her, she sat up straight, nearly toppling over, had it not been for a warm hand on her back keeping her upright. She clutched the branch again. And then there he was.

"…Hi Cl-how you get up here?" Shiba's eyes had been downcast and his words hesitant, until he had realized just where she was sitting. Claire turned up her nose but didn't answer. He sighed, and began again, "I know you mad at me. I never said, but I sorry, you know." As he had known she would, Claire folded her arms and looked away, but her eyes were not angry, but distant and sad. Slightly reassured, he continued persistently, "I know what I did wrong, but I make it up to you Claire. I don't know what else to do…" Claire's expression softened and her eyes dropped a little. She appeared to be considering. Abruptly, her melancholy aura took on a vehemence, and her pallid features became a snarl.

"You nearly killed me, Shiba! I'm sorry, but…I can't forgive you for that!" and with that she dropped down to a lower branch and then swung down the rest of the way, fleeing to his parent's hut. Despair and hopelessness swamped him. But he _would_ find a way. It couldn't, it _wouldn't_ end like this!

Shiba and his cousin had gone out hunting. Shiba snared a pheasant, but Hama returned empty-handed and slightly downhearted at his defeat. When the two boys were nearly at the door, Hama looked out towards the gushing waves, and his eyes caught Claire. She was sitting cross-legged out on the point in the early rays of the sunset, sulking and immobile. Her long hair streamed down her back and glinted gold off the sun. Shiba was inside when Hama was already running, barking back to his cousin, "I'm just gonna go see Claire!" and turning back just in time to avoid the dark, frantic expression on Shiba's face.

While Shiba nearly threw his catch to his father, aiding hastily in the cooking of it and glancing out every few seconds to Claire and his cousin, Hama had reached her. He stopped dead a few yards away, unsure of what to do, and slowed his gait to a walk until he was directly alongside her. "Go away, Shiba," her frustrated voice was muffled by her palms in her chin, and she hadn't even bothered to look up.

"Uh, actually, it's Hama…" she was already staring up at him, horrified by her mistake. Although they may have looked alike, their voices were two very different things, Hama's carefree and full of mischief, Shiba's hesitant, boyish and uneven.

"Oh, uh…s-sorry, Hama." She grinned sheepishly, though if she had meant to reinforce her words she did it poorly. But he grinned back ear-to-ear and knelt down beside her in the grass, automatically relaxed.

"You mad at Shiba, then?" She shrugged, but he pressed, "What'd my cousin do to make a Tiger Lily like yourself angry?" Claire's cheeks flamed and she struggled to regulate her voice as she answered.

"H-he just, he was just careless. But, in a big way, you know." Hama considered this and then nodded slowly.

"I guess." If Shiba had been sitting there beside her there would have been a long silence at this point, but Hama seemed to determine to keep up conversation for he then turned to the waves and suggested jauntily, "Let's go fishing. For dinner. I bet Shiba would be proud of you if you caught somethin' for his parents." Claire tried to find insult in this, couldn't, and rolled her shoulders distastefully.

"I don't care what Shiba thinks. I don't need his opinion, but…it _is_ for his parents…" she glanced back over her shoulder, and saw Shiba's worried face clear through the window, not quite looking at her, but more towards his cousin. She faced Hama and smiled winningly. "Sure."

Grinning, Hama pelted back to where the harpoons were leaning on the wall of the hut, and before Shiba could dart to his side and make an excuse for him to stay in, he was already whipping back to Claire, and a disheartened Shiba returned inside.

"Here you go. Now, do you know how to do this?" Claire shrugged carelessly.

"Sure."

"Alright then…" he seemed dubious. "Go to it." To prove herself, Claire worked harder than ever, prowling along the banks until there was the flick of a silver tail, or the swish of a small and florid school, and then she would lunge in headfirst, striking this way and that until at long last she skewered a fat, flopping bass, and Hama lifted her clear up out of the water, laughing. Delighted, she closed her eyes and pretended that she was flying, though unless she was actually looking at him, she always imagined him to be Shiba. When he deposited her on the bank and squirmed up himself, they were both thoroughly drenched and breathless. The bass flopped feebly one last time before it's broad, ugly jaws closed permanently. "You know," Claire panted, "That's only the second fish I've ever caught out here-

"You're not like most girls." At his unforetold statement Claire opened her mouth, blushed, and wriggled back as her face was directly in front of his. "I mean, I've never really met any other girls, but…I bet you'd shine." Touched by his charm and guileless flattery, Claire grinned and rested her chin in the crook of her elbows, all the while feeling Hama's gaze on her face. After what seemed like a decade of his eyes burning into her temples he rose with a sigh, helped her to her feet, and suggested flatly that their dinner would be about ready and they'd better not disappoint anyone, but as they walked together on the way back, he never left her side for a minute.

I'm getting so stoked about writing these chapters now! Anyways, this one's kinda scandalous haha but keep reading because I'm working on the next one right now and it's gonna be good!


	11. Chapter 11, Natalie

Harvest Moon is owned by Natsume, just to be clear.

Shiba had never felt such rage before. He had always been peaceful and compromising, but this was too much. Hama refused to leave Claire, and he had seen them out on the bay, when he had picked her up and twirled her about in the water. He had known her far longer and never done anything of the kind. Well, almost. And then he remembered how he had "licked" her cheek, which was sort of an animal way of saying "I like you", and she had done it back. That _had_ to mean something! Unsettled but slightly reassured by this, he obliged to eat alongside his father at the great bamboo table while Hama and Claire ate side by side and exchanged small talk. He would win her back, no matter what it took, and his cousin certainly wouldn't get in the way of things.

Claire, having nowhere to sleep now that she was banned from the fort, was offered Shiba's old room. It was small, and the furnishings were scarce and completely of bamboo and furs, but she was happy to sleep there knowing that Shiba no longer would bother her there. However, Hama needed somewhere to sleep, it seemed, and he was offered either the bear rug, or the floor of Shiba's room. To Shiba's delight, he replied, neither, and told them that he would like very much to stay with his cousin. This dampened Shiba's spirits tremendously, but obliged by his cousin and meaningful looks from his mother he allowed him to sleep on the floor on a makeshift fur mattress, sleeping himself in the hammock where Claire had slept before.

Claire awoke to wild birdsong, raucous and beautifully haunting outside. It was almost surreal. She suspected some extravagant, exotic plumed bird to be strutting nobly outside the door when she opened it to the sand, but when the source could not be found directly outside, she sought it out in the jungle. As she trekked through, bare-footed, she couldn't imagine any sort of wild beast springing on her. It was too peaceful and lush and sunlit, almost enchanted. Everything was in full bloom, and she tripped on moss-eaten logs and crawling roots more than once, but otherwise managed to stumble to the emitter of the strange melody. She was wonderstruck when she burst through the brush and saw none other than Shiba, thighs curled around a high trunk to support him there as he sang to a bird sitting on the nearest bough.

It was vibrant, and regal alright, but it was not the creator of that rich, flowing harmony. It was almost inhuman to see it coming from him. Deep in his throat, the rhythmic clucks and hums and trills erupted, soothing her inexplicably and rocking her into a dreamy trance. And they didn't falter or halt for one moment, even as he noticed her presence, far below, and slid down the trunk, continuing until she realized that the strange, melancholy sounds were now blaring in her ears, and she opened her eyes wide.

Shiba was leaning against a trunk no more than five yards from her, his melody continuing. When he sang like that, like a wild bird, she was unable to speak, for to speak was to interrupt it and completely ruin it, so she kept silent, and presently the bird from up high fluttered down, alighting on the ground between them and strutting straight up to Shiba, waggling it's tail feathers gleefully. He began to smile, and the notes shrilled with his features until she heard peals and burbles and whistles amongst it all. When at last he stopped, the bird took flight immediately, and she was swaying, eyes bleary, as though she, like the bird, had just awoken from a long sleep and realized her surroundings. She opened her mouth, feeling it was time to speak, anything to fill the sudden, deafening silence. She managed to stutter, "Wh-wh-what were y-you doi-ing?"

"Bird charming," he answered simply, apparently unaware of the whimsical song he had just created. He didn't advance towards her, or make a sound after that, not so much as a twitch of a muscle, but she could see his eyes darken as he played out the next scene in his mind. Fear suddenly overcame her, leaping to her breast, and with an anxious, hurried nod in his direction, she dove for the nearest vine and swung hastily off, leaving him grinning smugly after her.

"I vote whatever Claire votes!" Taken aback, Claire retaliated, "Well, I vote whatever Shiba votes!" Hama's shoulders drooped disdainfully but he nodded reluctantly for Claire's sake. Now two pairs of eyes were fixed on him. You see, after a long debate, the trio had decided to spend that day together, as a sort of motley family. But their destination was as yet undecided, and now, it was all up to Shiba. He shifted uncomfortably. His answer would have echoed his cousin's, but he couldn't very well say that, now could he? And perhaps Claire had forgiven him? Or perhaps she was just spiting his cousin.

"Uh…I dunno…I guess…rock pool?" Claire nodded agreeably, and Hama followed suit but glowered at his cousin when Claire had turned.

"Here, let me help y-

"I can do it fine." Claire retorted as she wrapped both hands around the vine.

"If you're sure…I just don't want you to fall." Hama seemed unsure of what to say to the hardheaded girl.

"Well, I could say the same to you, as you appear to have no experience, but that would be slightly degrading, a girl helping _you_ swing, wouldn't it?" And with a smug little grimace, she was off ahead of them, Shiba giggling as he too swung off after her, and Hama fuming as he mounted his own and followed clumsily.

Now, at this time, Natalie, the young girl who had been shipwrecked along with her older brother, mother, and grandfather, had discovered the rock pool days earlier, and it provided not only a bathing opportunity, but a swimming pool. When the trio arrived, Claire immediately tumbled with a splash into the icy water from her vine and Shiba was close behind. The tomboyish girl, no older than Claire, was so startled by the sudden, resounding cacophony that she couldn't help but utter a scream and fall backwards into the water. Her heart, still beating rapidly, retained her limbs from any rapid movement, and she quickly went under, thrashing about like a dying fish. Claire, nearest the girl, heard her scream and whipped about, and seeing her flailing limbs, bellowed, "Wha-Shiba! Help me, somebody's drowning!" and before he could so much as look towards Natalie, Claire had already begun to swim towards her, but was quickly outdistanced by he. In a moment, he had Natalie in his arms and had surfaced with her. She was choking and thrashing, disoriented.

"Calm, calm!" he ordered, but whereas Claire would've cowered and quieted at the demand in his voice, she continued to kick and then spat, "Lemme go, savage!"

Taken aback but amused, he hoisted her over his shoulder until they were in shallow water, and even then continued to dry land while she continued to beat his lean, bronzed back with impudent, and surprisingly strong fists. When she tottered back onto land, Shiba supporting her gently, it took her a moment to clear her head, but she punched him straight in the chest and he staggered back. He heard Claire's small gasp behind him. "Whadd'ya think you're doin', huh? Just creepin' up like that, you scared me to death! All three o' you! Who are you…hey, aren't you the girl from the ship? Wh-what are _you_ doing _here_?"

Claire put her hands on her hips, all eyes on her, and shot back, "_I_ came for a swim."

There was a moment of silence, in which the girl murmured reluctantly, "Well, thanks, dude…whoever you are…"

But before she could turn around and trudge off, vest and khakis soaked, Shiba blurted, Wait! …What your name?"

She shrugged. "What's it to ya?" When he stared at her blankly, she sighed and breathed out heavily, "Natalie. And you, Tarzan?" There was that strange name again.

But he answered, "Shiba."

She nodded nonchalantly, uttered, "Cool name," and then was gone.

When he turned back, Claire was glowering at him meaningfully, but averted her eyes when his met hers. Confused but too exasperated for an explanation, he dove into the water wordlessly, and his cousin followed suit. Claire, however, perched herself on the bank and remained there, scowling sullenly.

After two hours of meaningless swimming this way and that with his lighthearted cousin but sharing none of his joy, Shiba made to take a seat beside Claire but was quickly overtaken by his cousin, whose mood had turned to hostile, like a wolf over it's territory. Taken aback, he allowed his cousin passage, but drifted near Claire in the water.

"You look sad, Claire." Hama glared sharply at his cousin, but Shiba ignored him.

"No, I'm fine."

"You no seem fine." Hama scoffed quietly at his bad English. Must he always be made a fool of?! But unperturbed, Shiba persisted, "You still mad?" As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, Claire scrambled to her feet and stalked off, Hama close at hand, turning back to glare meaningfully. Sighing hopelessly, he laid back in the water, spread his limbs wide, and floated belly-up in the pallid green water of the pool. It was cool on his back, and he had nearly begun to drift off when a shadow fell over him abruptly. He sunk immediately until only his eyes were visible, but seeing who it was resurfaced.

"Hi, Natalie." The girl nodded her greeting.

"Look…_Shiba_, I'm sorry for bein' so…ungrateful…to you. You practically saved my life. But you know, I-I could 'ave done it by myself. I would've been fine, just so you know." Shiba grinned at her stubbornness. "So, you understand, then?"

"Yes, I understand."

She nodded. "Cool…then, I'll see you 'round?" With a half-hearted wave and what Shiba took to be a smile, she trumped back off through the brush. From her concealment behind a bush, Claire watched tearfully. She had no idea why she was crying. She was being friendly with Hama, so it was understandable that Shiba would cling to another girl. Another castaway…not her. She swiped at her nose before she rose, turned, and swung off through the brush. Awhile after her departure, Hama came bursting into the clearing, bewildered, and interrogating Shiba thoroughly on Claire's whereabouts. However, he merely stated that he supposed she had probably returned home.

Okay, not the fabulous chapter I was gonna make but…I think that might be Chapter 12…or 13. One or the other, so look forward to it and keep reading!


	12. Chapter 12, Falling in Love

Harvest Moon Natsume

Harvest Moon Natsume. Natsume Harvest Moon. 

Claire had expected no one to be in the jungle hut at this time of day, when Wada would be hunting and his wife napping or cooking outside. But today Wada sat cross-legged in the center of the bear rug, concocting medicine in a tiny crock, and when Claire burst in, teary-eyed and hassled, he very nearly bulleted to his feet. She didn't notice him until she had blundered about halfway across the room, and by then was so humiliated that she could only sob harder. Desperate and frightened by this feminine outburst, Wada retreated several steps, and Claire murmured an inconceivable apology before crumpling into a hopeless heap on the ground. She still had no idea why she was such a wreck. It wasn't as if she _loved_ Shiba…and he had only really looked at, and spoken, not to mention smiled at another girl. But the thought of him with another…she choked down a little cry and blurted unthinkingly, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU MEN?!" Wada was so taken aback and speechless that he could only shrug humbly. On the verge of screaming, Claire didn't quite realize what she had said at first, but seeing Wada's flabbergasted old face, sighed and calmed down instantly. "Wada, you know what it's like, having a son and all…so…could you tell me stuff about him? Please?" Wada paused uncertainly.

"You want know about Shiba?" She nodded. "Oh…well, I do not know that much about him."

She gawped, disbelieving. "Uh, he's your _son_, how could you _not _know _everything_ about him!?"

Wada hesitated before replying dubiously, "Well, he _like_ a son." Then it hit her full in the face, and she swallowed, trying to find her voice. When she did, it was cracked and hoarse.

"Y-you mean…how's he related then? Cousin? Nephew? What?"

Wada chuckled. "You mean he no tell you! Haha! I adopted him!"

Claire couldn't stifle a gasp. "You _what_?! Adopted him…like, A-D-O-P-T-E-D, him?" Wada shrugged.

"Well, yes. Oh. No, no, I no married. She not my wife, but she stays here."

It suddenly made perfect sense. Awestruck, Claire turned and darted out the door without a word, leaving a speechless and bedraggled Wada to brood.

At that moment, Shiba was taking a solitary, aimless walk through the jungle, and Claire spotted his bright spots from afar and dashed to his side. "Shiba! Shiba!" He stopped dead and stood, craning his neck over the bushes until she came barreling into him. "Oh…sorry," she apologized quickly, tearing herself from his arms. "Shiba, I-I'm sorry…I didn't know…" Shiba's eyes widened in shock.

"What you talking-

"I thought that Wada was your father…it all makes sense now…"

"…He _is_ my father…" Claire made to speak but closed her mouth hard. Suppose he didn't know yet?

"Umm…never mind," and she disappeared, leaving a disoriented Shiba in her wake.

That night, Claire dined with Hama out over an open fire while Shiba walked with Natalie. His expression from where she watched looked bored, but once in awhile a smile lit his grave disposition and Natalie would laugh heartily. Hama decided to try something new that night, sidling discreetly up to Claire, and then wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "For warmth", he'd said, but she knew better. However, she just couldn't find it in her to smile. She wished that Shiba were there instead of Hama, no matter how shallow it sounded. As though reading her mind, she looked up to see Shiba staring at her and Hama, dumbfounded. After a moment, he snatched up Natalie's arm, ignoring her protests, and set off purposefully towards them, his outraged eyes and prominent brow flickering in firelight as he neared. Claire lowered her head to smother a grin. When he dragged Natalie up beside him, she plopped down, frowning, next to Hama, and Shiba crossed around the fire pit to sit beside Claire. When Hama pulled away from Claire and began chatting in earnest with a disgruntled Natalie, Shiba tugged on her arm, and her eyes darted to his. "Claire. I need to talk to you." And without waiting for a reply he swept her up by her elbow, smiling innocently at his cousin, though he didn't even look up, and then marched off, muffling her protests with his hand as he dragged her with him. Her heart beat hard and fast beneath her hide swath, and she stumbled in the cool sand, unable to match his long strides.

When they had rounded the side of the hut, he nodded towards his "looking tree", his eyes always on hers. "Up there," and again, he clambered wordlessly and swiftly to the top, she close behind. Just moments behind him, she pulled herself up beside him, breathless and confused.

"Shiba, what's this-

"Claire!" He whipped about suddenly and dug his fingers into her shoulders until she squirmed. "Just, listen to me!" She nodded fearfully, feeling small compared to his anger. Eyes softening, he pulled away, folding his hands in his lap and staring at them in earnest. "I-I know I no always do right thing, or say right thing, but…I can't stand it! Claire…" He drew her hands into his, and her eyes wavered, reflecting the full jungle moon as she stared into his fire lit ones. "I sorry if I-…I just, I don't want Natalie, and I know you don't want Hama! I just want you, Claire! And…I'm sorry," and before she could utter a remark, as though she would have one, he framed her face in his hands and kissed her then, a real kiss. The paralyzing shock and…something else, as though the wait was up, and it made her happier and more delighted than she had ever felt. And she felt…all sorts of things. This savage, whom she had never tried to make fall in love with her, was doing just that. But, maybe it was too soon to say. Whatever the case, she soared high above the stars until he brought her back down, nuzzling her forehead, and she could only sigh and say nothing at all but, "I forgive you."

Hehe, okay that's about as romantic as it's gonna get, and personally, I love cute little bits like that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was short! )


	13. Chapter 13, Bear Encounter

Natsume owns all Harvest Moon trademarks, just not this story ;)

The enamored pair remained in the treetop, Claire wide-eyed with the aftershock of what had just take place, Shiba perfectly content to sit and nuzzle her hand against his cheek, which she found odd but somehow perfectly thoughtful. After awhile, he exhaled deeply and then began in a muted stammer, "I-I…I never actually…" Claire turned to face him directly, and he smiled sadly at her, a smile which nearly broke her heart. "My parents killed long ago. Mother and father by leopard. I guess 's why I had Vera, try n' tame what killed them, make not so bad, but it no help. I adopted by Wada, only protect his ducks and geese and hens from demon bears…but then grew fond of me, he says, and now I think of him like real father…" Claire nodded, understanding it all now. From below she heard Natalie's delighted laugh.

"I get it though. Not like you do, of course, but…I understand." He smiled gratefully and relaxed, and then turned his attention elsewhere. "I think Hama like Natalie. What you think?" Unable to contain herself, for no reason in particular, Claire threw her arms around Shiba's neck, laughing, and he sat back, surprised but delighted. When she withdrew, her eyes gleaming, he nodded towards the dark, teeming jungle. "Wanna go for swing?" She nodded eagerly, and they scrambled to their feet in silent unison, glancing mischievously at the other before hunkering down and then flying from their perch, landing in amongst the vines. Before Claire could catch onto one, Shiba scooped her up deftly on his and together they swung through the canopy, tearing past foliage like a knife through butter.

The fire was steadily puttering out, and Hama and Natalie had escaped the cold inside with Wada and the rotund woman who will, simply for reference sake, be referred to as his "wife". Claire and Shiba swung happily together, perfectly content with the other, and just when they were swinging low together, there was an unforeseen, rending blow to the vine followed by a splintering roar, and Claire felt the twang that jolted her violently to and fro, and below heard the heavy thud, but when she opened her tightly squeezed lids, she was alone.

Shock prevented her from screaming, it rose to her throat, but there was no breath there. After several vain attempts she managed a croaking screech. "SHIBA!" There was silence but for vicious rustling somewhere below and several wet grunts. Petrified and dazed, she hoisted herself a little higher up the vine and called out his name again. Still, silence. The third time, however, a weak gasp rose from below, and she screamed out his name again, dropping unthinkingly. There was an instant, battering blow delivered to her side, and she was swatted aside like a fly. Breathless but intact, she clambered to her feet, and came face to face with a demon bear.

She had heard of them before, not only from Shiba, but never thought she would see one. It was a frightful thing indeed. Monstrous, and so brown it was nearly black. It's long splayed claws and glossy fur rippled with knotting muscles across its barrel chest, and it huffed through a snout framed by beady scarlet eyes. She might've screamed, had she had enough air to, but only a strangled wheeze escaped her. The bear snorted full in her face and butted her out of the way. When he lumbered around, she cried out.

She had been fallen before, but now, everything was changed. It was not her, the damsel in distress, but instead, Shiba, lying an inch in the mud, eyes rolling from the fall, and a wide gash across his heaving chest. There was so much blood… Claire very nearly retched, but managed to hold it together for his sake. Nonetheless, terrified and belittled by the mammoth bear, she searched the surrounding area desperately. Her heart was hammering so fast she thought that it might beat right out of her chest. The only thankful thing that she could get out of it all was the fact that the bear seemed to utterly oblivious to her. Unfortunately, it was focused hungrily on Shiba. Furious, she pelted into the undergrowth, searching frantically until she came across a long, thick branch. She wrenched it free and immediately plucked up a stone and began sharpening it. It took her only two minutes to create a deadly point, but the demon bear was already dragging Shiba off by that time. She decided a sneak attack would be best. Besides, Shiba did this all the time, and he was absolutely fearless, or so she imagined he would be when the time came. Charging it, hollering and waving her stick about madly, may have worked, but just to be on the safe side, perhaps she would go with a sure scheme.

As swiftly as her slight frame allowed she clambered up the nearest tree trunk and perched upon a jutting branch, overlooking the broad back of the bear. She would need as much speed as possible, and pinpoint aim… After a minute or two of patience, the bear lumbered directly beneath her, traipsing over her imaginary target. With a wild crow that was almost animal, she dropped down from the tree, spear-head first. Shiba watched her, his eyes focusing for a few moments, then rolling back, focusing, and then rolling. But he watched her as the fatal blow was struck. The wooden blade drove into the bear's back, tunneling fast through his belly until the head poked out his stomach, and even the quivering shaft was buried in bloody fur. At first, he seemed unfeeling, and then his tiny, ugly eyes widened in shock and agony, and he rolled over with a defeated grunt.

Shiba attempted a smile as Claire hastened to his side, her hands dripping crimson. She looked both revolted and horrified. "Shiba…wh-what do I do…? I don't know what to do…" she would've broken down had it not been for his eyes on hers, like hands supporting her.

"Cl…Claire?" he managed thickly. But before he could say another thing, it flooded back to her. Wada had used it on her wounds to clot the bloodflow. Bloodmoss. And he found it on the jungle floor! Her eyes darted to her feet, and sure enough, she was standing on mossy ground. Positively jubilant, she began to tear up handfuls of moss in earnest until she had bared the perimeter of the area and secured an armload.

"Hold on, Shiba," she whispered, mostly to herself, as she packed on the moss. Sure enough, the blood soaked into it as though it were a sponge, but never quite soaking to the very top. Quite unlike ordinary moss. Relieved for the moment, and proud though she wouldn't have admitted it, she hastened to the nearest tree, plucked up a stone and began peeling. Wada had used soft bark as bandages…but then she would need to find water to soak them in. When her arms were sore and she and peeled enough to encumber one arm, she cast a quick, don't-worry glance back at Shiba and tore off. The rock pool was nearby. It took her no more than ten minutes to reach the rock pool, but she knew very well that the blood moss could be soaked through by then. She released her entire haul of bark into the water, where it floated about for a time, and then eventually became water logged and sank. She took this as completion.

When a soggy, dripping heap of bark was loaded in the cradle of her arms, she returned to Shiba. Indeed, the moss was nearly entirely drenched, but it appeared as though she were just in time, for it had effectively clotted the blood until now. With nimble fingers she swiped the moss away and began gently peeling down the bark. Shiba cringed occasionally and dug his fingers into the earth to keep from making a fool of himself in front of her and crying out, but sometimes it was all he could do.

When the last of the "bandages" were placed, Shiba lay still, staring up into the sky with pale, agonized eyes. Anxious, Claire leaned back beside him, huffing and puffing after her exertions. "You okay, Shiba? Actually, don't answer-it probably hurts to talk." Shiba could barely muster a nod, and both girl and boy lay there in a canopied clearing, saying nothing, but saying more than they had in their entire lives just by being there. Finally, Shiba broke the silence, because no matter how blissful, silence is silence, with a hesitant croak. Claire's eyes whipped to his instantly. "What is it?" He cleared his throat painfully and tried again.

"Y-you, sorta…saved me, I guess, Claire. How you know all…" he gestured to his chest and turned his questioning eyes to hers.

"Wada." Shiba nodded slowly, and warmth that she took to be pride crept into his face, though if it were for her or his father, or both, she was unsure. After a moment, she suggested that they be returning, if he could stand, though maybe it was insolent to ask. He tried anyways. He couldn't sit down, because then the bandages would rumple and peel off, so although he was reluctant and guilty for it, he allowed Claire to prop him straight up until he could stand. He felt highly degraded, having a female having to help him, of the male species, just to stand. Claire understood how he would feel and let him pick his way weakly through the jungle by himself, retaining her distance. It lasted only for awhile, because presently he halted and waited until she was at his side, and then continued to walk. She beamed to herself at this, and to her delighted surprise he then took her hand, and she noted the perfectly content smile on his face as they trekked home together.

Hope ya liked this Chapter! The story's nearing it's finale, but keep reviewing!


	14. Chapter 14, Return to the Fort

Natsume owns all Harvest Moon trademarks

Natsume owns all Harvest Moon trademarks.

The sun was fast descending when the haggard pair emerged from the skirting of jungle foliage. Hama pelted out with Natalie close at hand when he saw the state of his cousin. "Shiba! What happened, cousin? Claire, what happened!" Shiba couldn't even find the strength to be annoyed at his cousin for still preferring Claire's word.

"We were just swinging, and demon bear attacked him." At that moment, Wada came hobbling out, eyes wide.

"Shiba! Shiba, what happen!" Shiba struggled to speak for his father, but all the came out were weak gasps of air, and he shook his head shamefully. His father regarded him closely for a second, then his chest. "Who do this?" he asked, infinitely curious. Shiba nodded towards Claire, and she grinned affirmatively. Wada gawped as though he had just been told a mouse bandaged him up. "…Claire…do this?" He seemed to be speaking more to himself now, but his eyes darted to hers. She nodded. "Oh…well…you do very good job. Thank you very much for helping Shiba." He seemed reluctant to say anything to her, and surprise and disbelief were engraved clearly on his face, but Claire appreciated his word and stared at the ground humbly. It was considered an honor to be complimented by a medicine man.

Uncertain of what exactly to say, Wada shuffled over to Shiba, spoke in swift, gruff tones to him, and then hobbled inside, Shiba limping after him, glancing back at Claire and grinning widely. Hama, who had been standing off to the side, saw this, and darted to Claire's side in a heartbeat, leaving a pouting Natalie. "What was _that_ about?" He demanded shrilly.

"Nothin'," Claire answered smugly with a smirk that blared: _It was definitely _not_ nothing_. Hama glowered but said nothing. Presently, the three of them sat down in the sand, Hama sitting quietly by Natalie, but in a sort of obedient way. Natalie seemed to sense it and remained ignorant of him for the rest of the hour they sat there. Once there was a disbelieving shout from Wada inside, followed by Shiba's insistent murmuring, and then a thoughtful silence. Claire wondered what they were talking about. Maybe father-son stuff? Does a foster parent do that when he only has an adopted son? She pondered quietly, and when at last the door clanged open, there was Shiba, tattered leather sash stitched crudely, flint knife tucked deep in his belt loop, and he was wearing a simple kilt. He seemed stronger, somehow. He no longer limped, or maybe he was simply holding it together, and the color was back in his face. She noticed that her bandages were discarded, but also that his chest was stitched neatly up the middle. In his arms were a pile of leopard skin furs. He grinned at her, and from behind Hama snorted.

"I need wash this hide…you come with me, Claire?" Without a word Claire was on her feet, nodding happily and taking off after Shiba as he jogged to the brush. She supposed he would refrain from running and swinging for awhile. It took some careful footwork on Shiba's side to manage not to trip and open his stitches. He couldn't even stumble, and though he rarely did, he was careful nonetheless. No one wanted a reenactment of the day's previous events. Night was falling now, and soon Claire could hear the hum of lightning bugs over the pond and the gentle swish of the reeds and knew they were there. The pond glowed, luminescent, pallid green in the night, and it would've delighted her to leap in, but she remained on the shore for fear of disturbing the night's perfection.

Shiba rounded the pond, gazing back at her curiously, and then squatted down and began to thoroughly rinse and scrub the bloody furs with his bare hands. Claire watched curiously as he dislodged a rock from the bank and began to pound out the stains and beat the fur soft. Once, his downturned eyes whipped up to hers, and her breath caught in her throat. For no reason whatsoever, she was terribly afraid of him then. The flickering light of the pond played across his shadowed face and cast dark crescents beneath his eyes. He looked almost surreal then, and venomous, as though he would suddenly attack. She knew it was stupid to think so, but she buried her eyes in her drawn up knees anyways. After nearly an hour, Shiba rose, stretched, and seeing that Claire was asleep slipped back into his hides. He didn't want to wake her, and would've carried her had it not been for his bandages. He nudged her arm gently. "C-Claire…?" he whispered nervously. She mumbled something indistinct and rolled over. His voice rose a little. "Claire. Sorry, we gotta go…" Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and she yawned luxuriously.

"Alright…" she murmured, but her eyes closed again. Shiba laughed, exasperated.

"C'mon, Claire. I'd carry you…but bandages…" At this, her eyes popped open and she rose slowly, stretching languidly.

"Well, seeing as you're hurt, and you do all the carrying, how 'bout this." And with one sweeping motion she scooped him right up in her arms. Color rose to his cheeks and he squirmed like a stubborn child.

"Put me down!" He sounded like a frustrated toddler, but she only grinned at him, kissed his cheek, and trod off. "B-b-but- he stammered with flaming cheeks, "-I heavy! I can walk!"

She sighed. "I'm afraid not. And don't flatter yourself, you're lighter than me." Shiba tried to wriggle free again but to no avail, and presently quieted and sat sullenly, feeling like an infant, though Claire was laughing at his furrowed brow. He was incredibly degraded, but Claire was having her share of fun watching him sulk. Before they reached the lights of the hut he became desperate.

"Claire! Please, please, _please_ put me down! Wada can no see me-…lemme go!" Claire laughed hard at this, but obediently let him down.

"There, I just provided you with an hour of rest for your legs. You should be grateful." But apparently she was only jesting him for she chuckled and started off towards the hut. She couldn't imagine the punishment if Wada had caught her carrying Shiba. Shiba was already deeply embarrassed, there was no need to make it worse, especially between he and his father. Feeling lighter and prouder than ever, she very nearly flounced to the door.

She had expected laughing, and merry-making, for some reason. She supposed, to match her mood. But when she pranced in, it was dark but for one candle in the window, and soft snoring came from the rooms. She supposed they had all gone to sleep then, too tired to wait up for them. But where would she sleep then? Shiba's voice was soft behind her, so as not to wake anyone. "They all gone to sleep, then?" Claire nodded slowly. "Well, I sleeping in fort. You come then, sleep in hammock again." Claire had anticipated this, and she nodded, happy but bleary-eyed, struggling to forget his harsh words the last time she had been in that tree fort.

It took them about ten minutes of swinging before they arrived. Miraculously, Shiba's stitches remained together, even when they alighted unceremoniously on the floor of the fort. Shiba, laughing, helped her to her feet, then hoisted her into the hammock. She grinned at him from above, and then rolled over and stared out the window into the night. Content to sit and watch her for another minute, Shiba was only woken from his trance when she shifted and the hammock creaked and swayed. Then he too, rolled over in his pile of furs and tried to sleep. Though he was dog-tired, it wouldn't come easily. An hour later into the night, he was still struggling to sleep. Apparently Claire was too, for she crept out of the hammock and tip-toed to his side. He stopped mid-roll on his side, hearing her soft footsteps, and when she curled up behind him, falling to sleep almost instantly, he rolled over to face her and only then could he sleep.

Hehe aw. Well, I thought this chapter was alright but the next ones gunna be sad, I think. There's about two chapters left so look forward to them!


	15. Chapter 15, Three Little Words

All Harvest Moon characters are trademarks of Natsume.

Claire awoke, warm and dry. She shifted onto her back, listening to the soft, distant lap of the tide. The furs were rolled around her to excuse for Shiba's absence, and even without him there, she felt his presence in the earthy, primitive smell that hovered in his dwelling and the raw, musky scent of the pelts. It was quiet, just her, for awhile. An exotic bird, the very same that Shiba had charmed in fact, was trilling at the window, waiting impatiently for it's morning song, perhaps, or so she would have liked to think so. After a time, she rose groggily, scrubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms and kicking off the furs. She had barely fully rose when Shiba appeared at the window, white knuckled hands clutching the edge in earnest. His eyes were wide, desperate, and anxious as he spoke fearfully, "Claire! Claire, you stay here! Don't come down here!"

Utterly baffled, Claire lurched to the window, but Shiba abruptly dropped out of sight. She recalled the shine to his horrified brown eyes, and a deep concern fisted in her belly. She shouted out his name, but her only reply was a vast rustle of birds taking wing. Unnerved and wanting desperately to disobey Shiba's pleading tone, she leaned as far over the edge of the hut as the tiny window would allow, and then withdrew, swallowing audibly. Was she in danger? Or was it a widespread danger below? Fear clutched at her breast, and she kneeled down and draped the furs over her shoulders. When boredom fast overcame her, she began to pace. She couldn't do nothing, cooped up in that tiny hut in the middle of the jungle. Haughty with impatience and frustration, she contented herself by going through Shiba's various artifacts and few pieces of furniture. There was a tiny, crude redwood dresser with a hollow interior that he appeared to use as a pantry for nuts and dried berries. There were the furs, some more on a rack in the corner, several salt worn barrels, sea glass, beaten jars and coins, a little tin box containing sea shells, some candles, herbs, several primitive weapons, a small, filthy bamboo table that barely supported itself, and a pile of bricks. However, she found something quite interesting amongst the furs in the corner. She was inspecting each one. There was a particularly beautiful one, smaller than the others, but sleek and obsidian. The fur was thinner, but softer, and glowed like moonshine. For awhile she soaked in the dazzling allure of it, and then decided to explore further. When she turned it over to the hide, she saw that into it had been etched in charcoal an amazingly realistic portrait of Vera, and she discovered that each one had it's own story. When she came to a scrap of leopard skin that appeared to have been torn from the leggings of her garb, and she remembered now that she had caught them on a branch, she flipped it over, only to find a sketch of herself on the back. She marveled. Did she really look like that? He had drawn her, with hard blue eyes, a stubborn brow and mouth, long hair fluttering behind her, and swathed in leopard skin with a spear jutting from her fist. Terrified by the resemblance and strength in the image, she was still observing it closely when Shiba clambered in with that panic stricken look in his face. It softened and then grew almost fearsome when he saw what she was holding when she turned around, beaming and curious. He dove for it, snatching it clean out of her fingers and muttering with flaming cheeks, "It not done yet…" Claire grinned at his abashment and wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing. He seemed surprised by the gesture, and smiled himself, but then whirled around abruptly, frowning again.

"Claire, you must stay up here. Please, you can no come down."

"B-but Shiba! I-

"Please!"

"I…no! I don't understand!"

"You just can't!"

"I won't if you tell me what's going on!"

He hesitated before blurting, "They gonna take you away!"

She cocked a brow. "Who is?"

He scowled at her frivolity but continued in dead earnest, "Other castaways! I…I see their boat. They yelling your name, waiting for you. But you can't leave! You don't want to, do you?"

Claire was so flabbergasted and shocked that she couldn't utter a sound. "I-…you-…they're…"

"You won't go…will you Claire?" Shiba's confident tone faded to hope and plea.

"B-b-but…are you sure? I mean, after all this time…I forgot about my old home. My friends, my family! Shiba…"

His eyes widened with desperation and anxiousness. "I won't let them take you, Claire!"

Claire couldn't help but feel a growing warmth at his bold words, but she felt an unfamiliar tug now. Homesickness. She realized her predicament, and felt torn in two. It was Shiba…or home. To prevent a lingering silence, she cleared her throat and croaked, "Who's boat is it?"

He shrugged quickly. "I don't know, fisherman, I guess. Does it matter, it's boat!" She sighed heavily.

"I know, but, Shiba. Listen. I've forgotten who I really am. I don't belong here, but you do, so stay here Shiba. And I'm sorry, but I have to return." She had expected him to heat into a rage at this, but his face remained blank. After a long, pensive moment, he seemed to finally realize what she had said. Disbelief and horror crept gradually over his face and darkened his eyes.

"…Wh…what? You want to leave!"

"Shiba, please, be quiet…" She whispered feebly.

His eyes were a mix of outrage, disbelief and desperate hopelessness. "I thought…"

"I've loved being here with you, Shiba! But I have to get back…"

"No, you don't, stay here!"

"But I have a home!"

"Your home can be here!"

"I have a family!"

"I'll be your family!"

"What about my-…wait, what?"

Shiba froze, then took her hand and nuzzled it as he had before over his cheek. "Please stay…" Ignoring her affection for him, she prepared a comeback that was already filling her mouth, but she swallowed it when she saw that his eyes were gleaming, though he blinked rapidly and washed away any signs of weakness.

"You make it so hard! Why do you have to do that! If you were overseas and you had a family who missed you, and would never see you again if you didn't leave right then and there, you'd do the same."

He dropped her hand away, considering her words for a moment, then shrugged and stated flatly, "But I'd stay with you."

"Well, I can't. I gotta go." And he knew that he couldn't stop her. He watched her, silently biting back grief as she slid from the window. She wasn't crying. He paced anxiously. He could still make it to the boat and stop her! But would she be stopped? He peered out towards the waterfront where the boat rocked in the waves. Her name could be heard vaguely, called by the older fellow. Meanwhile, Claire, in all her misery, had collapsed hopelessly at the base of the tree, sobbing quietly.

When she at last mustered up the courage and strength to endure the walk to the beach, Shiba was disciplining himself in the fort, telling himself over and over that he was a man, he wouldn't mourn her if she chose to leave, it had been fun, but now it was over. It was just…never seeing her again? He had grown so used and fond of her presence. Maybe he wasn't a man, then. Maybe he was still a boy. It stung to know, but at that moment, he stopped mid-walk and simply stared. A realization had dawned on him, washed over him like the clearest water, and it propelled him out the window and through the jungle.

Claire was speaking with the elderly man, he asking her where she'd gotten to after the capsize and such. Right in the middle of their conversation, Shiba came bursting through the skirting of trees, whipping around to catch sight of her. Had she already left? No, she was there, standing directly alongside the boat, but at least she wasn't on it! Relief and hope alighted in him as he darted over the sand, crying out her name halfway there. When she saw him, she sighed shakily and clambered into the boat. The man eyed her curiously but followed suit. The motor was just choking and sputtering to life when Shiba reached them. But he was a moment too late. He dove for the tail of the boat, but all at once as though defying his desperado, the propeller spun to life and jolted the boat forwards in the water. He missed by a hairs breadth and tumbled into the waves, ignoring humiliation and splashing after the fast departing boat. And then it hit him. She was leaving, really leaving. The boat was fish-tailing over the waves, too far and too fast for him to reach. Before they could get much farther, he loped around to the point where he would be near her as he could get now and dove off into the frothing waves. He was a fast swimmer, and using all of the power in his arms he torpedoed to the tiny boat, surfacing directly alongside it and heaving himself up on the side. The fisherman steering it cried out in surprise, and before Claire could turn he was right behind her with his hands on her shoulders, his eyes so close to hers that she could see the flickering light of the sun in his pupils.

"Claire…" he heaved breathlessly. "Y-you can't leave… I want you stay on island with me."

She shoved him away. "I said no!" But he could see that she was crying now. It would be so easy to use that as an advantage, but he knew that it would be wrong and immoral so he ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation and was about to speak again when something narrow and solid jabbed him in the gut and he toppled overboard. Claire screamed and had reached out for him, but she righted herself now, staring back at him. He was floating in the water, cringing with pain. Outraged, Claire whirled on the fisherman, who had thought that Shiba was some kind of island scoundrel or the likes.

She was getting away. Without him. He would've returned with her had it not been for his inexperience with the outside world and for Wada. But he was being prevented. And she was leaving. He would never see her again. But she had to know before she left, or he would never live with himself. The boat hadn't gotten too far, and he hoped desperately that she would hear him as he roared her name. He saw her squinting for his shape in the water, and then focusing on it.

And then he did it. He said it outright. "I LOVE YOU!" Claire's expression changed to blank misconception, and she shrugged. She hadn't heard him. The boat was tearing further and further. Well, if she couldn't hear him…He gestured to her from afar, pointing to himself, then his heart, then her. This seemed to hit home, and he heard the engine sputter out. He wanted her to hear it, and with the utmost buffoonery he wailed, "I love you, I love you, I love you!" The passengers amongst her stared at her in horror as she dove wordlessly into the water, grinning hugely. He met her halfway, and swept her up in his arms, laughing joyously.

"I thought I wouldn't see you again!"

Claire laughed delightedly and then bellowed for the whole world to hear. "I LOVE _YOU_, SHIBA!" The passengers on the ship paled, and then she realized amongst them, a missing Natalie and smirked. She turned to Shiba, who was beaming at her dazzlingly.

After a second, he leaned his forehead on hers and suggested quietly, "You should marry me."

Claire's cheeks flushed and her eyes widened at his flat, bold statement, but it delighted her to no end. When he at last deposited her back in the surf, he cast a fleeting, adoring glance at her, and the two began the swim back to shore.

THE END

Mkay YAY! Haha, well anyways, if you think I should write a sequel then tell me in your reviews please and thanks cause I'm not sure...but till then!


End file.
